


Dr. Solo, Mr. Ren

by Sillypennie4



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Betrayal, Class Differences, Complete, Denial of Feelings, Dirty Talk, Dominant Kylo Ren, Downton Abbey vibes at first, Drama & Romance, Drug Use, Dubious Consent, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Illnesses, Jack the Ripper AU, Jekyll and Hyde, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Lawyer Armitage Hux, Love Triangles, Mary Reilly au but not really, Master/Servant, Murder, Mutual Pining, Non-Consensual Touching, Not Beta Read, Organized Crime, Pining, Plot, Secret Identity, Seduction, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Soft Ben Solo, brothels abound, lonely rey, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-01-11 06:20:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18424650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sillypennie4/pseuds/Sillypennie4
Summary: Rey has worked as a maid in Dr. Benjamin Solo's row house in London for over a year. He is quiet, kind and above all else a respectable gentleman, whom she secretly loves. She knows that being with him is a fantasy that will never come true. It is enough for her to finally have a roof over her head, and to share secret glances with her employer, or a subtle brush of his fingers as she passes him his tea. However, lately Dr. Solo has been acting strange, refusing to even make eye contact and locking himself in his laboratory. He stays away from home for nights at a time, even while knowing there is a murderer that roams the darkened streets at night. If his behavior wasn't concerning enough, he makes a startling announcement.





	1. Employed

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! If you are reading this, that means you have decided to use your very precious time to give this fic a shot. It is appreciated and I am humbled. This is only my second EVER fanfiction. My first was written ten years ago and was a Twilight fanfic (dodges tomatoes) and it is still hanging out on fanfiction.net some place. This is not beta read, so fair warning now. I also cannot promise how often I will update, because I have a book I am publishing in October that is a bit time consuming. One thing I can promise is, I will finish this story, even if it might take me a minute. This story is for fun and not my usual writing style. I am trying something new. I love writing and whether I end up having one thousand readers or just one, thanks for coming along for the ride! "You must stay drunk on writing, so that reality cannot destroy you." -Ray Bradbury ... My other favorite Rey ;)

 

Clouds hung low in the London sky creating landscape as gray and gloomy as everyday. A layer of soot permeated the stone of the buildings, and the streets shined, always slick with rain and shallow puddles of scummy water. Corellia Street was like any other in the heart of London. But 1109 Corellia Street was where Rey called home. 

She pulled back the thick velvet curtains, admiring the deep blue and scrolled design. Even after a year of drawing the curtains everyday, she still marveled at fabric so luxurious beneath her fingers. The cold light from the dawning day spilled into the dining room and she peaked out at the skyline smiling. In all her life she had never hoped to have such happiness. 

“Well done, Miss. Jackson.”

Rey turned to the familiar voice and broad grin of her very best friend Finnious Storm. He was well dressed in his butler’s uniform and shined shoes. Warmth spread in her chest. 

She had him to thank for her good fortune. 

As far as Rey could remember she had always been an orphan and a child of the unforgiving streets. Everyday of her life was savaging and surviving. When she was not in and out of the most ill kept orphanages, she slept in ally ways and behind garbage pails waiting for someone to throw away food. No kind soul helped her and she was wary of other people, whom she could not trust. She, like many of the other children, held out hope that one day their parents would come back for them. Rey had a blurry memory of a kind voice saying that they would come back for her. In every loving couple that walked past her on the streets she looked into their eyes and hoped that they would recognize her as their own little girl and sweep her up into a warm embrace. But as the years went by, with no family to speak of, she still hoped. 

At 18 she really and truly stopped receiving any assistance from the government and tried to find shelter in the slums. One afternoon, she had come to her wits end. She had hardly eaten for days and felt faint. In desperation, Rey very nearly considered joining a brothel when she found an injured ginger and white tabby cat. Her heart broke for the small thing meowing so forlorn and limping. She was moved to see a creature as alone as she, wandering and in need of help. No one had ever come to her aid. She would not be like the others that turned a blind eye to a suffering soul. Rey patched up the kitten’s leg as much as she could and even fed her the very last of her scraps. 

Finnious stumbled upon her that very same day, as she was nursing the animal back to health. The feline’s name, as it turned out, was Beebee, and was the beloved pet of one detective Dameron. They had both been searching the streets for her for days. Though Rey had been glad that the sweet cat had a comfortable home and was not the lonely and abandoned creature she had thought, it pained her to be by herself again. Finnous, no doubt, had seen her meager existence and offered her a job. 

His kind demeanor and sharp clothes instantly reminded her of a fine gentleman, and she trusted him like she had never done for anyone before. He explained, he worked at the dwelling of Dr. Benjamin Solo and that one of his maids had just recently married, leaving his employ, and a spot needed to be filled. Rey thought she was dreaming when he explained to her that she would have three meals a day, a roof over her head, a bed to sleep in AND even get paid! 

When she followed him back to his large row home, he had given her a room to wash in and clothes from the previous maid. The clothes were large on her but they were clean and newer than anything Rey had ever received. 

“Thank you, Mr. Storm,” She replied beaming in her uniform that fit much better now, than a year ago. “The tea is ready.”

Finnious pulled a pocket watch out and chuckled, “Seven thirty, exactly!”

The tall filigree wooden doors creaked open as Dr. Solo entered the room. 

She cast her eyes down pressing her still upturned lips together.

“Good morning, Mr. Storm, Miss. Jackson,” Dr. Solo said in dulcet tones as his long legs sat him at the head of a lengthy dining room table. 

When Rey had heard all the wonderful things about her new job she did not think it could get any better, until she had finally met the quiet and gentle Dr. Benjamin Solo. 

She had already worked in his home a full week, before seeing him for the very first time, though she had heard a lot about him. He was estranged from his family who lived in the states, save for one uncle that used to visit but they never got on very well and had a falling out some years prior. He lived alone in a very large home that needed upkeep from getting dusty and stale. He awoke early for his university job every morning and when he came home in the evenings would lock himself up in his private laboratory in the basement. Most nights he would not come out at all, supposedly working on some sort of cure for illnesses that plagued London. She had been told that he was distant and at times a bit cold, but never mean or cruel. 

One evening, Dr. Solo decided to take his supper in the dinning room and Rey had finally been formally introduced. His frame loomed over her long and lean. He was not what she had expected. He was much younger than she anticipated, for starters. His raven hair was kept unfashionably longer, but she could not blame him for it. If her tresses had been as glossy and wavy as his she would have done the same. His expression was serious but not unkind, with warm brown eyes that beheld her almost with fondness. He was not an extraordinarily handsome man. His lips were pouty, but his jaw not quite straight. His face was strong, but a little too sharp. Despite this, his manor and grace had the power to draw a person in.

And then he spoke.

His voice was as rich as the clothes he wore and Rey found her breath being held as she hung on every syllable. Something inside of her stirred, that had never been awoken before. 

After that first day they met, he somehow managed to make every meal exactly on time. 

“Good Morning, Master Solo,” Rey responded, her face heating. 

Scurrying into the kitchen she grabbed the tray holding a piping hot teapot with his morning Earl gray, toast and hard boiled egg. She placed it down and began arranging his meal as he took the morning paper from Finn, and thanked him just as he did every breakfast. And just as every morning she felt his gaze on her, causing her face to flame.

When she had first caught him watching her she looked directly at him. Living on the streets you had to always be aware of everything around you, especially those who were watching. The moment he had been caught he would swiftly avert his eyes, his cheeks turning a slight pink, though he tried to appear aloof. Rey didn’t quite understand his attention, at first thinking he was judging her work or suspicious of a common street dweller now in his home. Only when she learned to watch him back, out of the corner of her eye, did she notice his expression was not suspicious or lecherous, but awed. No one had ever looked at her that way before. She found her chest constricting at his attentions. Slowly she dared to take small glances back behind her eyelashes. After a while it took him longer and longer to break their eye contact. Some times even from across the room their gaze would connect, and there was something burning behind his irises.

Torturous months of rarely even uttering a few words to one another passed without incident. The air between them thickened with tension. Dr. Solo was always very careful to never be alone with her in the same room and kept a respectable distance. One morning, when handing him his tea, their fingers accidently brushed. When their skin made contact it was like electricity shot through her whole being. Her heart stuttered and he pulled away quickly. They just stared back at one another and Rey froze with anticipation. But she knew there would never be anything to anticipate. She was a maid. He was her employer. He came from a family with money and she didn’t even know her real last name.

She had heard stories of the help giving their bodies over to the lords of their homes in heated desire, only to forever be the other woman or face the heartbreak of being used. Dr. Solo was not that type of man. The only part of him that would ever touch her was his gaze. But more and more they drank each other in. She didn’t allow herself to hope there would ever be anything of substance. He only engaged in conversation when absolutely necessary or what was required out of etiquette. 

Rey could survive the ache and longing inside her, because she waited and longed all her life, for family, for belonging, a home. She knew his interest in her could not last. Even her own parents, those who should have loved her unconditionally, had left her. Eventually he would tire of her, she was a street urchin and now a maid. Some day soon she would no longer be a novelty to him, and he would perhaps court a lady, beautiful, educated, wealthy, all the things that Rey was not. She was readying herself for heartache, but erstwhile, she would take whatever small piece of joy she could take while it lasted. 

Because she knew, this could not last.


	2. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The frequent updates are just so I can get the ball rolling. This is a slower build story. AND THANKS FOR THE KUDOS AND COMMENTS! Enjoy, lovely people!

Rey woke before the sun to open all the curtains in Dr. Solo’s massive row home, making sure to always be downstairs by 6:00am exactly. This gave her plenty of time to eat a modest breakfast in the servants hall with the other help, where they chatted and gossiped. The most popular topics as of late were all about the rising crimes the last few months. The paper consistently seemed to have a new story about the mysterious robberies or deaths they couldn't determine were accidental or linked to Jack the Ripper. They had still been investigating the cases even a few years later. Rey shivered, remembering the fear of roaming the streets while a killer stalked the darkened alleys. 

Rose and Paige smiled as Rey entered the small, dim room attached to the kitchen. The two sisters were the newest to join them. Rey spied Maz as she leaned over the stove, frowning at a pot of boiling water, pushing up her thick glasses. The weathered and aged cook, had been there the longest, at ten years, when Dr. Solo was merely Mr. Solo and fresh off the boat from the states. Finnious and Mr. Mitaka were the only male employees. They dug into their breakfast with fierce vigor at the small rectangular table, that had no linens or fancy silverware. Mr. Mitaka was Dr. Solo’s coachman. He was a small man always a bit on edge and dreadfully pale, even for a London dweller. 

After breakfast, she and Finn would spend the morning setting up the dining room with fine flatware and fresh table linens, fetching the morning paper and dusting the large room. 

Rey pressed the front of her faded brown dress with her palms hoping to make herself a bit more presentable. She tied the white frilled apron around her tiny waist and adjusted the curtains in the room once more, trying to make the most of the natural light. 

Finn walked in with the London paper under his arm, the front page baring morbid headlines of murders and scandals as usual. Finn paid the rag no mind as he admired her lady-like touch to the room, the new flowers in a vase, the lovely way the cloth napkins were folded with care, how she had placed an extra cushion to the uncomfortable chair at the head of the table. 

He nodded his head in approval as he pulled out his pocket watch and the second hand ticked away.

“Perfect timing as usual, Miss. Jackson. And Dr. Solo should be here in…3…2..”

They both held back amused smirks at their employer’s strict punctuality for meals the past year. 

“One!” Finnious said.

Then there was nothing. No creak of the hinges. No greetings of a good morning. No hand stretched out politely for the daily news. Their faces fell. 

They stood, petrified, all of their attention at the unmoving doors. After a few more seconds Rey finally spoke.

“Is Master Solo, not well?” Rey asked in genuine concern.

Even Finnious fidgeted with his trusty pocket watch, his face frowning. In five long strides, he stood in front of the doors and pulled them open as if making sure the entrance still functioned. 

Only the whine of the metal pins made a sound. He stuck his head out into the hallway both right and then left. But not a single footfall tapped against the hard polished floors.

Rey supposed he must still be in bed. Surely Mr. Mitaka would have mentioned that he had driven Dr. Solo out already when they chatted over breakfast. 

“I should check his chambers,” Finn declared, still gripping his watch and the newspaper. 

Rey wanted nothing more than to follow Finn from the room and see Master Solo with her own eyes, to make sure that he was sound. However, it would have been inappropriate for a lady to go to her master’s chambers without being summoned and perhaps he was underdressed, still in his night clothes. So she patiently waited, unmoved from her place beside the blue drapes she adored so much. 

Only moments had passed, but to Rey they were the longest minutes of her life.

Finn trod back into the room, slumping his shoulders.

Rey’s hazel eyes were round as orbs, her usually tan skin a shade lighter than before, “Well? Is there something wrong?”

Finn heaved a breath, “He doesn’t look well.”

Rey wanted to spit every dirty curse word she had ever learned, and growing up in the places she had, she knew more than most. Dr. Solo studied illnesses. It was only a matter of time before he caught something truly terrible with all of his concocting and experimenting! 

“He said he will be taking all of his meals in his room today,” Finnious explained. “He will only allow Mr. Mitaka in and out of his room. He says for everyone else’s health, he would like to remain shut away.”

Rey mumbled in agreement. She cleared the table setting, but took the vase of flowers.

“Mr. Mitaka?” She asked as soon as she saw him holding the tray to bring up to his room. “Please bring these up with you. Perhaps it will lift his spirits.” She placed the vase on the silver tray beside his usual meal of tea, toast and an egg.

As Rey watched his retreating figure climb the stairs, she realized that today would be the first time in nearly a year that she would spend the entire day without his adoring surveyance. Her limbs felt heavy and cold.

***

Rey had not seen Benjamin Solo in over two weeks, not because he was still ill, but for other reasons entirely. After only two days in bed he had emerged strong and ready to conquer the day. That was what she had been told by others, for she had not seen even the shadow of him. 

He would be gone at very odd hours of the day and stay out all night. When he was home he shut himself up tight in his lab, demanding that he not be disturbed. Mr. Mitaka claimed that he had been taking Master Solo’s carriage to a very old and expensive home away from the over populated streets. He would tell them that he would stay there all night and in the morning, appeared tired and dazed. The last couple weekends Dr. Solo had simply stayed at the other estate the entire two days and two nights. 

No one knew the owner of the mansion where he stayed, though the staff now spent an exorbitant amount of time speculating. Perhaps it was someone from the University. Perhaps it was a wealthy man willing to back his research. Maybe Master Solo was being blackmailed. But it was only when Rose had suggested something rather plausible that Rey’s heart plummeted to the ground.

“Maybe he has met someone?” Rose tittered excitedly to Rey and her sister Paige. Her almond eyes scrunched happily and her button nose crinkled. 

Rey and Paige halted their scrubbing, as the clothes they washed soaked in the soapy water. 

“It would make perfect sense, wouldn’t it?” Rose asked. “It is some fine lady with money, and she has been keeping him up all night,” Rose winked. “Why would he want to spend his nights here when he could be there? Maybe her family is expecting great things from him so he has been working harder to make a name at the university.”

Rey suddenly felt sick and the scene around her warped as her head spun. That would explain why he had not even looked at her, not even once, in over two weeks, when he previously gazed at her daily. She turned her attention back to her work and scoured the bed sheets in the large wooden basin. Working faster, she concentrated on her task, trying to ignore the prickling sensation behind her eyes. 

Once everything had been wrung and dry, and Rey was too tired to think of anything besides sleep, she finally managed to swallow back the devastating sadness hanging on her shoulders. After all, they were only speculating. 

As the girls climbed the steps to their attic bedrooms, Finn stopped them before reaching the landing.

“Master Solo wants a household meeting in the drawing room, first thing in the morning,” He explained. “He said that there are going to be some big changes to the house soon. Mr. Mitaka suspects that someone is moving in.”

Rose’s eyes widened, as she smacked her older sister’s shoulder a little too hard, and Paige grimaced.

Rey’s blood turned to ice in her veins. Her jaw became slack as her eyes glazed over. This could not be real.

“Cut that out, Rose,” Paige protested peeking at Rey, more observant than her sibling. “We don’t know anything yet.”

“Sure, we don’t!” Rose replied sarcastically.

Once Rey was safely behind the closed door of her room, she pulled her hair loose, absentmindedly, taking out each pin until her locks waved down her back. She unbuttoned her dress on autopilot and unlaced her stiff corset. She folded each article of clothing and placed them in her small dresser one by one. Once she was completely bare and exposed, she slipped on her thin white night gown. She didn’t bother to button the collar, her mind too far gone. She tucked herself into her narrow bed and rolled to her side. She pulled her knees up to her slight chest and then wrapped her arms around them. Her breathing became ragged, no matter how hard she tried to stay calm. She squeezed in on herself tighter as her vision blurred. She sniffled trying to stop her nose from running onto her pillow. The pain that ripped through her chest was unbearable. She hated the nights when she was younger just as much as she did now. In her dark, quiet room, nothing distracted her from her loneliness that ate away at her like rot. She wished for Dr. Solo’s soft voice, his caring manor and the stolen moments of drowning in each other’s eyes. 

She imagined a new woman in the house, perfumed and polished, curvaceous and dripping with class. Her arm would wrap around Dr. Solo’s. She wouldn’t have to steal a slight stroke of his fingers but get to touch his hand on purpose. He could smile at her openly and not in secret. She would never have to worry that she was not good enough, because the golden band around her finger would assure her of his dedication. 

A dreadful thought crept into her mind, causing her to cover her mouth for fear her whimper would be heard down the hall. She would have to serve this new lady of the house day in and out. Not only would this blushing bride have the affections of Dr. Solo, but Rey would be forced to serve her meals and take her orders. Rey would even have to clean the sheets of the bed she shared with Master Solo. When Rey's parents had abandoned her, she thought that her heart could not break again because they had left it shattered. But it seemed even small pieces could still splinter further.


	3. Bad Apple

After pealing herself from her bed, Rey dressed, hardly seeing through her puffy, eyes. She licked her chapped lips and bushed out her rat’s nest that she called hair. The reflection of her self in the mirror was a ghastly sight. Rey did not own any make up but on a regular day did not think much of it. Today she wished to own even the most basic of face powders to hide her blotchy skin. She straightened. Had she not been through much harder times than this? Rey would survive this too. Pushing back her shoulders she forced a weak smile.

Her booted feet clunked down the two flights of stairs to the drawing room and stood as far back and out of sight as she could, her stomach sinking to the floor. There was no shortage of chairs and chaise lounges to relax on, but her anxiety would not allow her to sit. Finn and Mr. Mitaka were already there. The former paced the overstuffed space while Mr. Mitaka secreted even more sweat than usual, twitching and gripping his hat. Maz hobbled in not too long after and flopped into the plushest seat in the room.

Maz adjusted her thick round glasses on her tiny nose, zeroing in on Rey who waited stiff as a board beside her. Her face softened, almost pitying. 

“I see your eyes, child,” Maz remarked.

Rey flinched at the unexpected comment from Maz. She swallowed, confused with the old crone’s behavior. 

“I have seen those same eyes before in different people,” Maz sagely proclaimed taking her hand and patting it gently, before withdrawing.

Rey felt even more exposed there than she ever had alone in her room without a stitch on her. There was no time to dwell on her words because Paige and Rose blustered into the room bickering under their breath and hissing snippy remarks to one another. 

“He’s late again,” Finnious stated, as if Dr. Solo’s tartiness was a divine sign of the end of days.

He did not have to wait much longer, however, because Dr. Solo strolled in with his eyes glued to the floor.

Rey’s heart leapt in her chest at the sight of his fair skin contrasting drastically with the beauty marks of his face and the ebony of his hair. She took in every tiny detail, mapping him in her mind, so she could reflect back with total clarity every line on his face.

Dr. Solo halted in the middle of the room, his chin still down as he clasped his hands behind his back. Rey noticed the way his feet shuffled and his expression bore something akin to guilt. If only he would turn to look at her. Rey hadn’t realized just how starved she had been for him until this moment, when he was right in front of her but as distant as stars. A weight pressed against her fragile heart.

He inhaled deeply, licking his lips before speaking. “I have called his meeting today to speak about a matter of great importance.” 

He stopped, and the room hung on his every word, waiting for him to continue. Perspiration gathered on his brow. 

“When I came here from America, all those years ago, it was because I was at odds with my family. When I left them I left behind my life there, along with my trust fund. I worked constantly with no friends or family for help. Everything I own in this home, the money I have, is because I earned it.” His voice shook and he cleared his throat before continuing. “Except,” He paused taking a breath, “the home itself.”

The silence following his statement swallowed the room. Each person exchanged glances with one another as if someone had known all along. It became harder to breath as Rey couldn’t fathom the implications of his statement. Was this his way of giving everyone their notice? That they all had to leave? Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she watched him struggle for his next words. Pleading with her eyes, she only wanted him to acknowledge her even in the smallest way. She ached to comfort him in whatever he was about to say, even if his words had the potential to destroy her world. 

“This home was left to me by my grandfather, whom I had always admired but he seemed to be the shame of our family. I took the home out of necessity because I had nothing when I first came here, but I also took it to spite my parents. I am not proud of this fact. But it still remains that this house is not only mine, because it was also left to my brother as well.”

The servants’ jaws dropped, shocked and confused. He had never mentioned a bother, but then again he never mentioned his relatives at all. This was the most Rey had ever heard him speak, much less about his family. 

“My twin brother took after my father more than myself. His reputation is unsavory to say the least,” Dr. Solo frowned. “He has even changed his name to Kylo Ren for his less than admirable dealings.”

He stopped again, pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at his forehead. Rey noticed the tremor in his hand. 

“But the fact remains that this home is as much his as it is mine. He will be in London on business for a while. He shall be staying here, until further notice on the third floor bedroom, directly across from mine. You are not to speak to him unless spoken to first. You will try to avoid him at all costs unless he gives you a direct order, but he cannot give you orders if he does not see you. Only Mr. Mitaka and Mr. Storm will deal with his basic needs. Furthermore, the third floor is off limits after 10pm to everyone. That means, ladies, you must be upstairs and in bed by 10pm. None of you leave your rooms for the rest of the evening, until sun up for your own safety.”

Dr. Solo finally raised his chin to look Rey directly in the eyes as if this message was specifically for her. Her eyes widened and she swallowed as fear creeped up her back. He turned to face away from her to stare straight ahead, keeping his focus on the back wall of the room.

“If he requires meals, he has been informed that he must let Mr. Storm know at the beginning of the day. Otherwise he will have to fulfill his… appetite… elsewhere. I will be busy in the next coming months working on experiments commissioned by the university. I shall be absent from the household or locked away in my lab. But I expect your cooperation during this time and for you all to remain as steadfast and professional as always.”

Without any preamble, Dr. Solo turned on his heal and rushed out.

As soon as they all assumed he was a safe distance away, they all began to chatter, sounding like clucking chickens.

“Did you know…”

“Why did he never mention a brother…”

“Wonder what he is like …”

“He has a perplexing name…”

“Will he be here today…”

“I bet this business he has in London is illegal…”

“We must be confined to our rooms every night…”

Finn clapped his hands getting their attention. They all quieted. 

“As shocking as all of this news is, we must remember that we have duties expected of us,” Finn stated as if he had not also thrown out a few questions and speculations of his own, not two seconds prior. “The bedroom across from Dr. Solo’s must be aired out and the linens changed. Please see to it immediately, ladies.” 

Rey, Rose and Paige scampered from the room to the third floor.

***

Dr. Solo, being a modest man, stayed in the smallest bedroom in the elaborate home. This made easy work for the staff, his small quarters not requiring much attention. The place designated for his brother was just as small as Dr. Solo’s. Though three servants were not required to attend to this room, they still stuck close together and took the opportunity to give more opinions.

“He said TWIN. Do you suppose they look exactly the same?” Paige asked as she pulled the old sheets from the bed.

Rose giggled into her hand and responded, “That hardly would be fair would it? TWO men that comely and not ONE for me?”

Rey couldn’t help the small chortle that escaped her lips. Knowing Dr. Solo was not getting married put her in much better spirits, even if some concern over his behavior itched at the back of her mind. 

“I don’t find Dr. Solo to be attractive, perhaps his twin is even more pleasing to the eye,” Paige countered.

Rey kept her lips sealed. To her, there would never be any man on Earth more attractive. Needing to change the subject as soon as possible, Rey said, “Wasn’t his behavior a bit odd?”

“Well you heard him. His sibling seems to be bad news. He can’t be happy having him around,” Paige argued logically. “I can relate.”

Rose threw a pillow at her sister for the insult, but laughed anyway.


	4. An Unexpected Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I am obviously a fan of Jekyll and Hyde, this looks like it is going to be seriously mind blowing! 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/18390785/chapters/43552871

The bedding was changed. The curtains and rugs had been taken out and beaten to remove any dust that had gathered. Brand new drapery had been placed on the four post bed. The large dining room table now had two sets of flatware, one at each end. To Rey the house that was always so quiet yet comforting, now possessed a new eerie silence. The atmosphere thickened with nervous anticipation. Everyone in the household jumped more easily at the slightest provocation. The ticking of the grandfather clock seemed to echo all the way to the third floor. So it was no small disturbance when someone slammed the knocker on the front door repeatedly. Rose even shrieked at the unexpected sound. It had not even been a few seconds before a fist hammered on the thick oak. 

Rey had just happened to be on the ground floor already, in the library, straightening up, dusting and reorganizing books on their shelves. 

Finnious stomped hastily to the front by the time Rey had poked her head to find out what the disturbance was. Everyone’s head popped out from whatever room they were occupying to see the commotion. Their faces bent over the railing to see down. Finnious yanked open the door causing it to fly open. 

“I want to speak to Benjamin Solo immediately,” came a weathered but commanding voice.

Finnious seemed to sputter, his eyes blinking rapidly and his back straight before he said, “Doctor Skywalker. What are you doing in London?”

Instead of answering, Rey watched as a scruffy middle-aged man shouldered his way into the house. His suit could have used a good seamstress and a proper wash. He had a graying beard, unkempt and bushy. His overgrown eyebrows furrowed over sky blue eyes. Rey noted his hair could have used a good trim. He stood ridgid as she considered his thunderous expression.

“I am sorry, but Master Solo is in his lab and we were told under no circumstances are we to-”

“Fine then!” The older man interrupted Finn, throwing up his hands, “I will go down there myself!”

“No need,” came a rich voice from the stairway. Master Solo’s irate expression rivaled that of the man still standing in the lobby. He had is shoulders high and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The middle-aged man pointed a thick knobby finger at Master Solo and spit, “So it wasn’t enough that you left my tutelage and destroyed my research, but now you have taken up with Doctor Snoke!”

Ben’s eyes reduced to slits as his lips stiffened. “If you want to talk then fine. We shall talk, but in my study. Let us not make a scene in my home.” Master Solo briskly glided into the library with Master Skywalker close at his back. 

Rey had to stumble backward from the entryway as both men charged in. She stood beside a bookshelf as the intruder scrutinized her presence. 

“Rey.” Dr. Solo had said her name with such care she might have swooned if they were alone. “would you be so kind as to continue your work at a later time while we occupy the library?” Dr. Solo still looked furious but his tone with her was soft. Rey felt as if a string attached to her heart were tugging her toward, Dr. Solo. He rarely spoke to her, and she wanted to hear him say her name again in that same tone. 

All Rey could manage was a nod as she curtsied and turned away from the room, closing the door soundly behind her. Even through the thick mahogany she could hear their heated shouts.

“Dr. Snoke’s research is inhumane and dangerous!” Master Skywalker yelled. “How dare you?!”

“His medical techniques are revolutionary and far ahead of his time!” Dr. Solo countered. “You are just a sad old man with antiquated studies!”

“You are just like him. You are turning out to be exactly like him.” 

Rey jumped at a hard thud against the wall as if a book had been thrown at it and she backed away in shock. She kept distancing herself so much her back hit the wall. What could have possibly come over Dr. Solo? Rey had never even heard him raise his voice before. She gasped at the touch of a hand on her shoulder, but sighed in relief seeing it was only Finnious.

“That is Dr. Skywalker. That’s the one we told you all about.” 

Rey had already gathered as much, but had no idea that their break in relationship could cause them to be so volatile to one another. The limited information she had on the estranged uncle was that a few years after Dr. Solo arrived in London, he went to work for Dr. Skywalker. They had worked together for a few years before having a very large falling out. Rey was still unclear about the nature of their altercation. Dr. Solo had left Dr. Skywalker’s practice and his uncle had supposedly moved to Ireland. 

Asking carefully, Rey whispered, “Who is Dr. Snoke? There has never been a gentleman by that name who has come here and I certainly never heard Master Solo mention it.”

“Not that we would know, Master Solo is not exactly verbose,” Finn commented. And then there was another bought of shouting in the library. “That is, until now.” 

Both stared and could only make out a sentence here and there from where they stood. They should not be ease dropping, and witnessing such a display made her uncomfortable. 

“I shall go see if Maz needs help in the Kitchen in the mean time.” Rey excused herself. She would very much like to get away from both of those men practically duking it out in the library. Something told her that when Master Skywalker left the library, she would have her work cut out for her.

***

After Dr. Skywalker stormed out amidst roars, insults and slammed doors, Rey heard Dr. Solo call for Mr. Mitaka. 

Rey ran back to the ground floor, telling herself that she was only so quick to get there because she knew she would have her work cut out for her, and wanted to start as soon as possible. 

Benjamin Solo’s hair was in disarray and his pale face flushed at the cheeks with anger. Rey watched from the steps as he threw on his light gray over coat in a flurry. She had never seen him in such a state, ordinarily being rather stoic and mild mannered. He did not even take his top hat or cane. 

That was when Dr. Solo noticed Rey, because his steps faltered. His features smoothed and his tragic eyes connected with her own. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Time stood still and the rest of her surroundings melted away until all she could see was Master Solo. For a moment he hesitated like he would take off his coat and settle back down. But he screwed up his face once again. He ripped away his attentions and Rey had felt her heart tear along with it. Dr. Solo did not glance back as he fled toward the coach house. Mr. Mitaka had rushed after him with hardly enough time to grab his own hat before going out into the cold.

Rey’s knees felt weak with disappointment, and slowly turned away, unable to bare the sight of Dr. Solo’s back. She dragged her feet into the library where end tables were upturned. Books sprawled out on the ground, or fell off of the shelves. Parchment littered the carpet amongst chairs thrown on their sides. Rey shook her head, unbelieving the damage their confrontation had caused. As Rey began to straighten up, Finn entered the room, blowing out a great huff of air as he entered. 

He helped her gather the texts as he said, “Master Solo told me as he was leaving, we should not expect to see him back for a few days. The confrontation with his uncle has greatly upset him. He also informed me to welcome Mr. Ren as he should be here any time now. Master Solo does not anticipate him spending much time here, saying that he has some other business he must attend to. He implied that his brother had other accommodations as well.”

Rey frowned as she pulled up a high backed chair. “If he has other places to stay why is he coming here at all?” She had to admit that she was a bit resentful that Mr. Ren was staying there when it was obvious that Dr. Solo was unhappy about it.

“Your assumption is as good as mine,” Finn replied shrugging.

For the next hour Finn and Rey cleaned the room in silence as Rey stewed in her own thoughts. Dr. Solo had already started to look haggard. And she had never heard the name Dr. Snoke before, not even in passing. Over the last year she had heard names of other doctors at the University, Dr. Akbar, Dr. Erso. But there was no memory of that name.

The front door latch clicked and both Finn and Rey left the library and turned the corner into the lobby, expecting that perhaps Master Solo had decided to return after clearing his head. Instead a somber Mr. Mitaka entered with his head hanging low.

“You returned with Dr. Solo?” Finn asked warily.

“No,” Mr. Mitaka exhaled as he gripped his top hat. “He had me drop him off at that manor he has been frequenting. He told me to leave and that he would call for me in a few days’ time. Ah, he also left me a note to give to you, Mr. Storm.”

Finn shifted his jaw as he read the small piece of paper. Rey’s reading skills were not very strong and could not decipher the writing as quickly as Finn. 

“Mr. Ren will indeed be here later today. I am to greet him with you, Mr. Mitaka, to show him to his room but no more.”

Rey felt as if a hot lead ball was sitting in her belly. She tried to ignore that overwhelming sense of dread hanging over her head but could not shake the feeling.


	5. Mr. Ren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! Mr. Ren. My favorite. Thanks to you wonderful people for leaving comments and Kudos. You will never know how grateful I am that you enjoy my fanciful reveries that I get to share with you.... and this is the end of the story. (So kidding! You will be stuck with me for a while if you continue until the end.) Happy reading!

Even the lively conversation of the Tico sisters and Finn could not shake Rey from the confines of her musings. Her fork picked at her dinner and she was plagued with the tragic eyes of Dr. Solo. Emptiness still throbbed in her chest. First he was dealing with the arrival of a troublesome brother, and now a combative uncle. She was worried for him. He didn’t seem like himself at all.

Another concern would not leave her. Rey had not known until recently, how much the small glances and brief bumping of hands with Dr. Solo had elated her. With his absences becoming more frequent she found her emotions spiraling. Her mind replayed over and over again how he had paused before leaving, the way he had looked at her, exactly like he used to. And the way her name sounded from his mouth gave her goose bumps. It echoed in her mind. The depths of her soul craved even the smallest bit of his attentions. It frightened and angered her. Rey had never needed anyone before. She had always been alone and self-reliant. But now…

“Rey!” 

She jumped at the sound of her name, sobering to the room around her. She blinked rapidly returning the curious apprehension of the other help sitting in the servant’s dining area.

“Are you alright dear?” Maz asked first. “We thought that we lost you.” Maz chewed on her food with care. “Are you not hungry?” She pointed with her chin at Rey’s nearly full plate. “It is your favorite.”

Rey forced a bright smile as she simpered, “Sorry. I was only thinking about my list of duties and if I had finished everything. If Dr. Solo’s brother will be here I best not make him look bad.”

Rose giggled, “I don’t know about you all, but I am finding this all rather exciting. Let’s be honest. Working for Dr. Solo is not particularly thrilling. At least working for larger families you would get to hear more gossip.”

Rey scowled down at her plate feeling the urge to defend their employer. At least he was not condescending and didn’t work them to the bone. 

Rose tapped her bottom lip with her fork. “As for the work. I think all we have to do is wipe down the windows in the drawing rooms and you and Paige and I can do that quickly enough.”

“Some of us can get it done faster than others,” Paige said pointedly.

And that was all it took for the two of them to go back to their spirited arguing.

***

After all the chores were done, the women retired to their rooms for the night. Finn and Mr. Mitaka stayed up and waited for the honored guest. Mr. Ren had still not come, even with the assurance from Dr. Solo he would be arriving that same day.

The sky was black, and the thick clouds covered any light that would have come from the waning moon. The street laps were lit and the unsavory crawled out from under their rocks to wonder the shadowed streets of London. Just as Rey was going to change into her night clothes, she heard a quaking rumble. The sound was so troubling, Rey ran to the window facing the street. Horse’s hooves stampeded on the cobble stone road with such volume, there had to have been at least five massive steads. As the disturbance increased in noise, she heard the shrieks and shouts of pedestrians almost being trampled by a sinister carriage barreling down the road. The driver had to have been a mad man. Much to Rey’s horror the shining, elaborately carved, ebony carriage, skid to a halt right outside their residence. The four beasts harnessed to the front, bucked and grunted, as the coach driver pulled on the reigns. The coach cost more than what Rey could ever make in a lifetime. The driver wore all white like the people who worked at the asylum. The sight of him disturbed her. The door on the side slammed open, the person inside not waiting for the footman to bring over the steps.

Rey sucked in a breath. A man emerged like a wraith, as though he were the shadows itself. Even from the highest floor of the house she could distinguish a massive frame, even if she could not see his face. Wide shoulders filled a black fitted coat, and the top hat placed on his crown added even more to his substantial height. He would have been imposing all on his own, but when Finn and Mr. Mitaka came to usher him inside, he dwarfed the men. His long gait moved him swiftly into the home. Rey swallowed against the dryness in her mouth. When she turned around to go back to her quarters she spotted Rose and Paige peeking out of their shared room into the hall.

“Did you see him? Is he here?” Rose asked in a loud whisper as if they could hear them from four floors up. Their eyes were as wide as dinner plates, dancing with curiosity.

“Yes,” Rey said with confidence. “We might make the pleasure of his acquaintance tomorrow.”

The Tico sisters exchanged a silent conversation only really close siblings could do, before slipping back.

***

Out of habit, Rey had risen at her usual time. She had made sure to follow her same daily routine to the minute as if nothing had changed, though everything had. The atmosphere of the home, changed yet again. She was surrounded by uncertainty and a stranger resided in this place she had come to think of as her home.

She pulled open the dining room curtains and looked longingly at the empty chair Dr. Solo usually sat in. The entry to the room opened and for a brief moment her heart leapt into her chest. Her elation quickly evaporated when Finn walked in with his head hanging low.

“How did it go last night?” Rey asked, abandoning pleasantries.

Finn’s head snapped up as his face twisted, and venom dripped from his mouth, “That… man! If you can call him that… is so…so.” His cheeks puffed out. “How him and Dr. Solo share the same parents is incomprehensible! If they didn’t look so similar I would say it was impossible. He waltzes in last night barking orders at Dopheld and myself, throwing his coat and hat down. He demands wine and strong drink. We tell him that Dr. Solo rarely keeps spirits in the house and his violent temper was completely unwarranted, throwing insults.” All of Finn’s words spill forth like he had been holding his tongue all night. “He has one small case of clothing. I show him to his accommodations as per Dr. Solo’s instructions and he tells me that it will not due. With the very little belongings he has, the space should more than suffice. He charges through the house, opening door after door before he reaches the grand master bedroom. He says that is where he is staying and wants the room aired out, cleaned and read by the time he comes back.”

Finn huffed, his back straight and his arms stiff at his sides.

“He takes his coat and hat back and stomps out the door. When I asked when he would be returning he said he would not be back until this evening.”

Rey raised her eyebrows. None of that sounded good.

“I am so sorry,” Finn sighed. “I had been holding that in all night. I came here to find you and the girls, to prepare the room he asked for.”

Rey’s temper flared, “Are we really just giving into him like that? Shouldn’t he just take what he is given?” Her mouth became a hard line. Mr. Ren sounded like a brute. She had grown up on the streets and knew men just like him. Men who believed they could do whatever they want and get whatever they desired by violence and intimidation.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Ren has just as much power to discontinue our employ as Dr. Solo.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t believe we will have to tolerate this for very long. Once his dealings in London are over he should be slithering back to where he came from.” Rey had never heard Finn speak of anyone in such a manor. He must be dreadful! “Come Rey, three are only so many hours in a day at it is a large room to prepare.”

***

By late afternoon Rey was internally using every colorful fowl word she had ever learned to insult Mr. Ren. The three of them ached from working all day. No one ever used the master bedroom but they made sure to upkeep it as best as possible, but it still had not been suitable for occupancy. All of the long curtains and vast rugs had to be taken out and beaten as months of dust had settled into their fine fibers. All the sheets and blankets were stripped, washed, and were now hanging to dry. It took them quite a while to find spare bedding to fit the oversized four post bed while the finer fabrics dried. They had scrubbed the hard wood floor on hands and knees. They had wiped the windows and greased the hinges. The shelves and decorative tables were dusted. The room had its very own water closet they also had to clean and stock with toiletries. 

The sky steadily darkened outside the windows. Rose arched her back, stretching her arms up and her eyes drooped. Rey could tell Paige struggled to keep focused as she turned down the bed. The room glowed warm with the gas light chandelier hanging from the ceiling, but even despite that, it was not helping them stay alert.

Rey let a long breath out of her nose. The room only needed a few more touch ups before being completed. She personally thought they were putting entirely too much effort in for someone so terrible.

“Rose?” Rey called. “You and Paige can stop for the night. I will wrap up here.”

“Are you sure?” Paige asked cocking her head to the side.

“Yes. I just have to arrange the pillows and fold the extra blankets. I will be fine. I will be right behind you.” Rey shooed them away and they gave little resistance as they left. Rey filled her lungs with air and let out a long exhale willing her body to relax.

She flitted around the room. A small desk with parchment, fountain pens and ink stood under one of the large windows. Rey organized the items, placing a lamp on the desk as well. She stood back and smiled to herself, finally done. She spun on her heal ready to leave the room, but sucked in a startled breath, nearly falling on her backside, stunned by a large shadow blocking her exit.

Her eyes glued to the spot as all of her muscles seized up observing the hulking silhouette of a man. He emerged from the inky hall, his features slowly coming to light. A long nose, set with plush lips were the first features to touch the warm glow of the room. Then she noticed the oval face with piercing eyes. Upon seeing his face, Rey’s heart quickened even more. He looked exactly like Dr. Solo. For a wild moment she thought it was him. Her pulse jumped on her neck as he took slow measured steps toward her.

As he came closer, Rey realized the impossibility that this man could be HER Dr. Solo. Well-groomed facial hair sat atop his upper lip and chin. His eyes were not kind and warm brown, but a depthless coal with a wild glint. Something untamed lurked there, dangerous. It appeared like he was stalking her, like a predatory cat would hunt its prey. His gaze bore into her, much too intense. He held his shoulders back and his chin up, moving with a confidence and agility at odds with Dr. Solo’s humble mannerisms. More details came into focus. His hair waved significantly longer than his brother, brushing his shoulders. Flawless marble skin was not dotted with moles and marks. He was more handsome than his brother. Rey had to admit that. Whatever circumstance befell Dr. Solo in his youth, causing his jaw to be uneven, had not happened to Mr. Ren.

Rey backed up until she hit the desk behind her. Mr. Ren stood taller than his brother and his shoulders and arms strained in his overcoat. Slacks stretched over large muscular thighs. He stopped much too close for polite etiquette. His eyes roved her face as she leaned away. Strong drink wafted from his breath, and Rey curled her lip in revulsion. This close, she noticed the red staining his shirt collar, blood or perhaps a lady’s lipstick? She was not sure.

Rey felt her heart pounding in her ears. She wanted to run from the room and escape his looming presence, which seemed to suck out all of the air in the suite. 

“What are you doing in my room, Girl?” He rumbled, his voice, intoxicating, causing her nerves to hum like a plucked violin string.

The distaste she had felt for him before increased 10 fold to an absolute ire. HIS room?

“I work here,” she spat back and added belatedly, “sir.”

“Is that so?” He scoffed. “You, a servant?” She didn’t like the way he sized her up yet again. His tone made her feel like she was in an interrogation. “Then I guess that means you work for me.”

Fire licked at her neck and on the sides of her face. “You are not the master of this house.” Rey said confidently.

“This is my home. And even if it were not, I am a very capable man. I can take whatever I want.” He said the last sentence softly but with an undercurrent of threat.

He inched closer, and Rey knew he meant to intimidate her. The last sentence stoked her rage. Of course he thought he could take whatever he wanted. She had known instinctually the type of man he was. She braced her hands on the desk as she said, “I have grown up on the streets most of my life. And I have known creatures like you, who hide behind a mask of intimidation and threats when really they are afraid.” 

His nostrils flared as chaos stormed behind his eyes. 

“You think you know me? Well I know you.” Calm, cruel confidence replaced the anger. “You are so lonely. I see it,” Mr. Ren cooed and Rey’s stomach fluttered as he skimmed her face with his eyes, his plush lips slightly parted. “At night, desperate to sleep.”

Rey’s anger had not abated. She didn’t like the things he was saying, because they were true, so true it sliced to the bone. She held her breath as she groped behind her back, searching for anything to defend herself. She was alone in the bedroom with him and he was much too close. He leaned in to the point she could feel his breath ghost across her skin. He was larger and could over take her if he wanted to. Her left hand closed around a letter opener. With a snarl she swung her arm up. She had only meant to brandish the item as a warning but the sharp end sliced from his jaw to his brow. 

Droplets of crimson flew through the air as thick blood coated the silver. Mr. Ren doubled over clapping a hand over his face. Red beaded between his fingers. His face snapped back to her, his exposed eye watching with anger and perhaps amazement. Rey stood breathing heavily, gripping the letter opener so tightly her fingers ached. Her body shook with adrenaline, standing over his crouched form. 

What had she done? Rey bolted out into the hall. Her body did not feel like her own. Gliding through the dark halls and climbing the stairs, her mind raced. This was it. As soon as Dr. Solo found out that she, a lowly servant, assaulted his brother she would be thrown back onto the streets. Even if she thought there had been some special bond between them, compared to the magnitude of her transgression, he would have no choice but to allow his brother to banish her.

Rey somehow made it to her room and closed the door behind her. She paced, breathing so deep it hurt her ribs. Her hand still clung to her make shift weapon. There was no taking back her actions now, and she would not apologize, not to that man. Resolved to face the impending doom awaiting her, she settled on her bed fully clothed watching the door, waiting for Finn to come barging through to reprimand her. Looking down at her dress she wondered if she would be permitted to keep the clothes they had given her. Her wild thoughts stopped when she noticed the miniscule spots of blood on her dress front. The evidence of her crime sullied her clothes. 

Rey steadied her breathing and kept her attention at the door as the torturous waiting continued.


	6. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this just right. If you didn't check out my one shot, feel free too. It's more my usual m.o. Fluff and Humor.

A fist slamming her door shocked Rey from her sleep. Her head whipped around, waking disoriented and confused. She was still completely clothed and on top of her bed as light streamed in from her tiny window. The memories from the evening before came crashing abruptly into her sluggish mind. It must have taken a while for Finn to finally come for her. Her stiff fingers were petrified to the handle of the silver letter opener. Forcing her knuckles to work, they uncurled as the offending object clanged to the hardwood floor.

More hurried knocking rattled the door to Rey’s room as Rose’s voice called from behind it. “Rey! Hello? Are you okay in there? You are late.”

Rey let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Um, yes Rose. I am sorry. I am not feeling very well. I ah, think I just need a few more minutes.”

A small pause worried Rey. Perhaps Rose wouldn’t believe her. 

“Do you need anything?” The pitch of Rose’s voice had changed drastically. She spoke with a tinge of worry. 

“I don’t think so. I really am not that bad, just feeling a little off and fatigued,”

Rose gave a heavy sigh. “Okay. Too bad Dr. Solo is not here. I hope it is nothing serious. I will let Finn know that you need rest.”

Rey nodded her head and then remembered Rose could not see her. “Thank you, Rose.” 

Rey stayed as quiet as a mouse, her hands gripping the bed sheets nervously. She listened as Rose’s heals clicked away from her door down the hall. Once she heard the muted clunks of her shoes on the stairs, Rey finally rose and stood behind her door. Why had no one come for her, yet? 

Her eyes fell back to her dress, now crumpled and still speckled with crimson. The tips of her fingers were tinted a rust color. Her eyes closed and a flash of Mr. Ren’s collar came to mind. The same shade dyed his white shirt. Nausea rolled in her stomach and she clapped a hand over her mouth thinking she may be sick. 

Yanking her door open, she sprinted to the water closet thinking she was going to empty her stomach. She gagged but nothing came up. She had not eaten anything the night before. Her body felt sticky and stale. She needed to have a good wash. Even if she could not scrub her memories, she could wipe away any evidence of the events of the night before. The dress would need a good long scouring as well. 

Even if she delayed going downstairs as much as she could, eventually she would have to face everyone. Dread dizzied her, wondering what would happen.

***

After a very long bath and taking her time changing, Rey finally dragged her feet back downstairs. She hoped a chunk of bread was left over from breakfast. They were most likely downstairs cleaning the dishes from their own meal. Rey was unsure if Mr. Ren was awake or even in the house. 

Rushing down four flights of stairs, Rey made it to the servant quarter dining and the kitchen. She heard the bustle of feet moving, and dishes shuffling. Sure enough Maz, Paige, and Rose were scrubbing dishes in the large sinks as Mr. Mitaka wiped down the table. 

They were chatting with scandalized urgency. Rey didn’t even want to imagine what they were talking about. Her little episode from last night must had gotten out. Taking a deep breath, Rey steeled herself. This was it. 

Entering the room, four alarmed faces turned to her.

“Rey!” Paige exclaimed.

Rey froze.

“Did you see Finn this morning? He was looking for you,” Rose said with pupils like pin pricks. 

A tremor twitched her left hand. 

“It is all over the newspapers!” Maz said.

Had Mr. Ren called the press on her? Had he claimed assault, and now she was the town pariah? Were officers already in the house just waiting for her? They would throw her in prison. She would never find a job ever again. 

“Two murders last night!” Paige added. 

A lighting bolt of confusion struck her. 

“That’s five in the last month alone!” Rose squealed, putting a hand to her chest.

Mr. Mitaka wound the dishrag he had been cleaning with, in his hands. His usual tick intensified. 

Rey moved her mouth to speak, but her voice refused to work. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Are they…? Was there a suspect or a motive?”

 

“No! The police have no idea who is behind it all. Some think that there is some organized crime group in London. But the last two victims had no links to the other people who were murdered,” Rose explained her words coming out in a rush.

Swinging around the corner and into the kitchen was a panic stricken, Finn.

“There you are!” He exclaimed. “Well you’re looking better and just in time. You have to see this.”

Finn held out the morning post. The case was splattered across the front page. Rey snatched the paper from him, and read with care the article. It took her a while to get through it. Two bodies were discovered laying in the back of alley ways, hidden under rubbish. The body’s seemed completely unharmed. The police were not sure if there was fowl play or purely an accidental opium overdose, because the only sign of damage were tracks of needle marks on their arms. The most suspicious evidence they had were the bodies looked deliberately disposed of, and in the same areas as previously discovered corpses. But even the location was not very suspicious considering the places were known for crime. They didn’t think that these incidences were linked to Jack the Ripper because he usually left his victims torn to ribbons, but they were not completely discounting it.

Rey swallowed thickly, the collar of her high necked dress suddenly too tight for her liking.

“From now on, no one leaves the house after dark. Everyone needs to get their outside duties done before night fall,” Finn demanded.

Everyone nodded, their eyes far off in thought.

“Will Mr. Ren be requiring super?” Maz asked, trying to change the morbid topic.

Finn grinned. “Well at least there we have a bit of good news. Mr. Ren informed me this morning that he will be out most of the day attending to important matters. But really perhaps he just didn’t want to show his face. He must have been out drinking late last night and got into a brawl because he has a nasty cut up his profile. Serves him right, he must have been rude to the wrong person.”

If Rey could melt into the floor, she would have. Why had he not told anyone else what had happened? Mr. Ren had no reason to let her stay there or keep the incident from last night a secret. She wondered if he was going to use her delinquency as a means to manipulate her.

“Well, looks like this is going to be a rather easy day,” Paige smiled.

“Game of cards?” Rose asked excitedly, as if completely forgetting about the murders.

“Certainly. I have to win back all that money you stole from me last time,” Finn said to Rose, winking. “You are a dirty cheat.”

Rose giggled and no one missed the way her hand fell on his shoulder and stayed there a bit too long. Paige rolled her eyes, and Mr. Mitaka cleared his throat.

“Alright!” Maz called. “Eights are wild!”

***

An uneasiness still tightened Rey’s chest all day. Just because Mr. Ren didn’t say anything to Finn, didn’t mean he would not talk to Dr. Solo, or was not planning something in the way of revenge. Even late that night in her cramped bed she tossed and turned. Mr. Ren had not returned yet. It had to have been almost midnight, and she still could not sleep. Every sense sharpened with anxiety. Had she not been so on edge she might not have heard horse’s hooves clacking on the cobblestone street. When a particularly ruckus group of steeds seemed to stop right outside, she ran down the hall and spied out the front window.

Emerging from the same large, black coach Mr. Ren had arrived in came a man with such violently red hair that it screamed its presence even from the fourth floor. Walking up the sidewalk, Mr. Ren greeted the new guest. Shoulder to shoulder they entered Dr. Solo’s home. Rey’s hands gripped the edge of the windowsill and her nails dug into the wood. Making a rash decision, she tip toed down the steps. She sat on the landing in the darkness on the first floor and peered down through the banister bars to the ground level. The inky darkness engulfed her surroundings, and she had to be careful with her limited visibility.

Rey saw a flare of light. Mr. Ren must have lit an oil lamp, because all she could see from her angle were their chests.

“Heaven’s, Ren? What the hell happened to your face?!” Rey heard the redhead exclaim.

A guttural snarl rumbled out of Mr. Ren. “Nothing happened to me that concerns you. Let’s get this over with. The servants are all in bed for the evening, they are not to leave their rooms after 10pm, but I want you out of here,” Mr. Ren stated. His low voice carried well.

“Good,” said the redhead. He had a nasal tenor that grated on Rey’s nerves. “It is best if Phasma and I are not seen here.”

“She should be here by now,” Mr. Ren growled.

The redhead snickered, “Well what did you expect this is her busiest time.”

“I am well aware, Mr. Hux, but this should take priority,” Mr. Ren bit cruelly.

A light knock tapped at the door. Rey heard the swoosh of air indicating that he was letting someone in. She tilted her head more so she could just make out a very tall leggy blonde woman. Her hair was cropped short. She must have sold her golden locks for money recently. 

“My apologies for being late. I was… tied down,” Phasma explained sounding amused.

“There is a study on the third floor we can use,” Mr. Ren explained.

Rey retreated back, feather light up the steps. She wanted to keep an eye on the odd trio. Rey stayed out of sight and waited until she heard them enter the small office Dr. Solo had not been inside since she started working here, and closed the door. Rey’s face set in determination. Something very wrong was happening right in Dr. Solo’s home. Rey’s bare feet padded on the cold wood floor. Her nightdress swung around her ankles. She crouched, peeping through the keyhole. The room was well lit with a few kerosene lamps.

Mr. Ren sat at the large desk as Mr. Hux and the woman they called Phasma, lounged in heavy wooden chairs on the opposite side from him. They leaned over the tabletop, inspecting what looked like documents. Mr. Ren had a nasty red line going down his face. The wound Rey had given him looked like it had healed rather fast, but there was no mistaking its severity. Rey could not help the bubble of pride swelling in her. She had done that. She had fought back and he would now have a reminder to stay away. He had not even told Mr. Hux what had happened when he asked, but she was under no illusion his silence meant he was being merciful.

“I have the contracts for you to look over,” Hux explained. “I wrote up all the appropriate paperwork with Dr. Snoke, so everything is on the up and up. Everything agreed upon has been updated. As stated, he will be a silent partner in these businesses.”

Rey’s heart sped up at the mention of Dr. Solo’s colleague.

“I will just need your signature and Phasma’s, here and here. And then you have to initial here and date it. All of these are in triplicate and you each will get a copy.” Mr. Hux leaned back in his chair and crossed his spindly legs. His expensive shoes shined and his pants were impeccably pressed. From the little of his face Rey could see, his sharp features rested looking terribly bored.

“All set,” Phasma said, placing her fountain pen down on the table. “Looks like we are business partners now, Mr. Ren. Did you want me to send you any samples of our product now, for quality assurance?” Phasma sounded like she was on the edge of laughter, a high-pitched lilt to her words.

“That won’t be necessary,” Mr. Ren said, his frown setting deeper.

Phasma hummed. “Well, if you change your mind…” She stood up and Rey saw for the first time her stature rivaled Mr. Ren’s. Her dress was elaborate and low cut. A slit ran up the side revealing her firm shapely leg as she swayed to the door, clutching a set of papers in her hand.

Rey’s heart picked up as she realized that Phasma was leaving. As quickly and as soundlessly as she could, she dashed to the steps. Just in time, Rey hid at the top of the stairs.

Mr. Hux and Mr. Ren came out not long after Rey heard the woman leave out into the night.

Hux tucked the folded parchment into his breast pocket while Mr. Ren extinguished the lamps and closed the study. The only light now came from the cool moonlight beaming in from the windows.

“I will come back, with more bank documents,” Mr. Hux explained.

Rey’s legs began to cramp from her curled position. On the wood boards, she shifted to stop her leg from falling asleep. She realized too late it was a mistake to move, because the step creaked loudly under her weight.

Both men snapped their heads over to the steps. Rey hugged the wall holding her breath and hoping she was too far and the hall too dark to spot her. She dared to peak over when she did not hear anyone walking toward her hiding place. Mr. Ren’s eyes narrowed trying to peer into the darkness.

“This is an old house,” Mr. Ren said to Mr. Hux. “It has strange noises. Remember when you come back, only come after 10 pm.”

Mr. Hux snorted, “Yes, let me parade in here in broad day light. Make sure you invite that Dameron detective too.”

Mr. Ren and Mr. Hux descended the steps until they were out of sight. She heard the front door open again, and both set of steps walked out of the house. Mr. Ren had not locked the door, thinking everyone retired for the evening. Now was her chance to get into that chamber and see what he was exactly signing.

Her hands shook and her tongue was fuzzy in her mouth as she sped into the study. Mr. Ren at least had the forethought not to leave anything out on the desk. She pulled on the desk drawers and there were files upon files. She wasn’t even sure what she was looking for. With her slow comprehension skills it would take her forever to read everything that was in there. She stopped at a few pages with fresh ink on them. They looked like a deed to a property. Her eyes frantically scanned the words. She could make out most of it, but what caught her eye was Dr. Solo’s signature at the bottom of the pages. Mr. Ren was forging his brother’s name. Her stomach dropped at the discovery.

She faintly heard a click of the latch downstairs. Her blood pounded as a lump formed in her throat. She pushed the papers away and crept to the study entry. She panted harsh and fast, felling light headed. Her hearing strained, listening. The latch downstairs had clicked, but she had not heard Mr. Ren’s hard soled shoes slapping against the steps. He must still be on the ground floor. She had to get back to her room. The hair at the nape of her neck stood on end as her skin prickled. Readying herself mentally, she slipped out and prayed the hinges would not squeak as she closed the door behind her.

She spun around ready to make a break for the steps but nearly shrieked as the ghostly outline of Mr. Ren stood before her. With the blue light of the moon from the window he appeared like a spirit haunting the halls. Her heart thudded in her chest. He did not move a muscle as anger so visceral rolled from him in waves. 

“What do you think you are doing here?” His voice raised barely above a whisper but shook with fury.

Rey swallowed. He caught her, and shrinking away or denying anything would be an obvious lie. Squaring her shoulders, she bore into his depthless eyes. “How do you know Dr. Snoke?”

That was the wrong thing to say, because violence flashed in his eyes. Though he started to inch closer, as though trying to appear nonthreatening, his body trembled with ire. “Don’t you dare, ever mention his name again. Ever. You heard nothing, and you know nothing.”

Rey would not be cowed, even as fear gripped her. Though the night was chilly, a small bead of sweat steadily slipped down her back. “I heard everything, and I even saw you signed Dr. Solo’s name on those pages.”

Mr. Ren’s features turned apocalyptic and he rushed forward slamming a fist at the wall beside Rey’s shoulder. She grit her teeth to stop herself from screaming as Mr. Ren heaved laborious breaths, leaving his knuckles pressed against the plaster. His lips quivered and Rey could not keep her eyes from them. Something thrilling tickled down her spine. She had never felt more livid or more alive than standing up to him, unflinching.

“And what do you think you are going to do to stop me? You don’t have any office stationary on you at the moment to threaten me with.” And his attentions dropped to her exposed collarbone and the edge of her nightdress and continued to dip down to the slight curves of her body. “In fact, you don’t seem to have much on you at all.” His voice sounded huskier than before.

Something in her lower belly fluttered, and she felt disoriented as if she were falling. “I can take care of myself. I always have. You underestimate me, Mr. Ren,” Rey warned, feeling emboldened. “And when Dr. Solo returns he will know all about what you have been doing.”

The last of Mr. Ren’s rage bled away, being replaced with a cocky stare. The corner of his mouth lifted without humor, and his demeanor should have disturbed her, but instead it was dark and sumptuous. His hungry leer caused her skin to buzz, as if her whole body had turned into a tuning fork. Even the mere skim of fabric from her shift felt titillating on her skin. 

“Are you really going to go running to my dear brother? And what do you think he will do? Nothing. He is weak and an embarrassment,” Mr. Ren spat. He chuckled a sinister laugh.

Rey could see red tinting the edges of her vision, the absolute arrogance of him. Her hands curled and she wanted to charge him, fists flying. 

He retreated from her, giving Rey her space. “Be my guest. Tell good old Benjamin what is happening under his own roof. See what he does, Girl.” Mr. Ren locked the study door. “And you may want to get back to bed.” He gave her one more searing appraisal. “You must be cold.” His attentions lingered on the hardened peaks of her breasts and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, before slinking away.


	7. Love and Lust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will have to do revisions. I apologize for this being so unpolished. It's tough not having a second pair of eyes, otherwise I would get chapters out to you much faster. Thanks for hanging in there!

Rey could not shake the electricity coursing through her body that night. Anger and anxiety robbed her of sleep. Rey felt the need to pace the floor, scream at the top of her lungs, hit something, but she could do none of these things, so she tried pushing her feelings deep inside herself. After a while of fruitless effort, Rey decided there was no possible way she would get any rest. She went to the water closet to wash and brush her hair. 

She was fully dressed and down in the kitchens polishing the silverware so vigorously the metal was hot to the touch.

Maz walked in and Rey saw her tilt her head at the violent burnishing she gave the serving spoons.

“You haven’t been yourself lately,” Maz commented as she stood beside Rey on the kitchen isle. The top of the tiny woman’s head only reached her shoulder.

“I don’t like this, Maz. I don’t like a stranger in this house and I don’t like the way Dr. Solo has been acting.” Rey dropped what she was doing and slammed her hands down.

A fragile, hand patted her back a few times and Maz gave a weak smile.

“Help me make breakfast,” She told Rey, leading the young woman into the kitchen.

They had not been there long when the rest of the servants came down for breakfast. They all chipped in, frying the eggs, cutting the bread and toasting it in the pan. Rose was prattling on about something or other. Rey never could figure out how she always had something to say. The others were laughing at her story of catching crazy spinster Miss. Morris singing to her flowerbed. She was launching into another story about the rumors of the Whitmyer’s daughter running off with a lowly writer, when Finn walked in smiling ear to ear.

“Mr. Ren just left!” Finn cheered. “This is not the last we will see of him. He said he will be back in a few day’s time, but he informed me that he spoke with his brother this morning and Dr. Solo will be returning tomorrow.”

The elation Rey felt was so resplendent, she thought she would sob with relief.

“Mr. Ren said that him and Dr. Solo can’t be in the same room together. They must really hate each other,” Finn said, tickled pink. “Dr. Solo will have to do something when I tell him of all the erratic behavior of Mr. Ren and his mistreatment of us. He has never let my concerns fall on deaf ears.”

“Will he need me to retrieve him?” Mr. Mitaka asked.

“Ah, Mr. Ren said that Dr. Solo will give us a ring. Useful things those new telephones. I do have to admit that when Dr. Solo got it a year or so back I was not so sure…”

Dr. Solo was returning. Rey didn’t have the mental capacity to think of anything else. Mr. Ren would not get away with his unbalanced behavior and illegal business practices. Everything was going to be all right now.

*** 

Finn sprinted to the telephone the moment it rang the next day. He had been keeping himself not more than five paces away from it. Sure enough Dr. Solo called for Mr. Mitaka to escort him back home. 

 

By the time Rey saw their carriage roll up to the walkway, from the second floor window, she shook with trepidation. She did not fear Mr. Ren, even in the face of blatant threats, but her nervousness about being in a room alone with Dr. Solo caused her distress. They would have to speak alone. If Mr. Ren were participating in something dangerous she could not risk getting anyone else involved. Above everything else that had happened over the last week, Rey missed Dr. Solo. She yearned to see him.

She stopped her dusting, rushing over to the lobby, giddy and elated. 

“Thank you, Mr. Storm.” Rey could hear the small smile in Dr. Solo’s voice as he undoubtedly thanked Finn for hanging his coat.

Rey all but ran down the stairs to greet him. She was well aware that this was unusual behavior, and a violation of social decorum. Once Rey stood in the polished lobby only a meter away from Dr. Solo, she realized she was beaming. 

Dr. Solo, turned to face her straight on, and her smile fell.

Rey braced a hand on the banister to keep herself steady. Dr. Solo had only been away three days, but he appeared as though he had not eaten a single morsel since his departure. His clothes were much roomier than before. His lips chapped and his eyes glazed, sitting deeper in their sockets. A gray tone tinged his skin and his hair lacked its usual luster. Dr. Solo spotted her and his mouth softened. 

The words were out before Rey could stop them, “What has happened to you?” 

Rey watched as Dr. Solo lowered his chin and deflated. 

Finn shot daggers in her direction. Rey curtsied, remembering her place and fiddled with her fingers before adding, “Master Solo. It is wonderful to have you back.”

He perked up at her greeting. “It is wonderful to be home.” 

Rey held his gaze for a moment. The same warmth and feeling of belonging saturated her bones. He was still her Dr. Solo. He had probably exhausted himself where ever he had been. His work always consumed him. Perhaps he missed meals. Rey tried not to imagine the worst for his change. Dr. Solo always tread softly but his steps were so light, it were almost as if he were made of glass. “I am very tired however, and I will be needing rest. I am retiring to my room for the evening. Tell Maz I will take supper in my quarters, but nothing too heavy.” 

“Yes, Dr. Solo. I will inform Maz and I will help you get settled in,” Finn answered. “I will have one of the ladies bring you your meal.” 

Rey, and Finn stood in the lobby as Dr. Solo climbed the steps at a snail’s pace. Once Rey was sure he was out of earshot, she hissed to Finn, “What is going on? What is wrong with him?”

“Do you think I know? I have as much information as you do!” Finn retorted. “We can find out if Mr. Mitaka spoke to him at all, but I doubt it. I wanted to tell him about his brother, but Master Solo seems unwell and I am worried he won’t be able to take the stress.”

Rey felt a sliver of ice in her heart at Finn’s words. Neither one of them could be sure how serious his sickness was. It could be something that would go away in a few days or it could be life threatening. Rey trusted it was the former.

***

The metal tray cooled Rey’s fingers as she prepared to enter Dr. Solo’s quarters. She had been standing at the threshold far too long, readying herself to see him. With one more final steadying breath, her knuckles rapped on the door. 

“You may enter,” Dr. Solo encouraged.

The well lit chamber was warm from all the lamps and candles. It did not take much for the small space to heat up. She took dainty steps toward his bed, keeping her eyes down on the carpeting. 

This felt strangely intimate, being in his bedroom with the glow of candlelight. Rey bashfully gave Dr. Solo her attention as she placed the tray on the bed. The blankets were pulled up to his waist and numerous pillows propped him up. Her eyes lingered on his white night shirt open at the collar revealing more skin than Rey had ever seen on a man. Though she only saw a peak below his collarbone, Rey felt positively scandalous. She averted her eyes hoping Dr. Solo had not seen her ogle.

“Maz has prepared you chicken soup with rice and a side of warm French bread,” Rey listed. “I do hope that this is to your liking.” Rey decided to be forward and added, “I helped make your evening meal, wanting to do something for you.”

A long stretch of silence caused Rey to squirm.

“Rey,” his deep voice said.

Her attention snapped up to Dr. Solo’s whimsical expression. Under his eyes were dark bags, but he was still handsome. Her whole body was arrested, captivated by the kindness of his smile.

“You already do so much for me,” Dr. Solo said. “So much more than you even know.”

Rey watched as he lifted his hand, and her heart beat in her throat. His fingers looked as though they were reaching for her hand, and she waited for what action he was going to take. Instead of reaching out further to touch her, he stopped. His eyebrows rose as though he was shocked with his own actions, and he used his elevated hand to grab the spoon on his tray.

Tears threatened to leak from her eyes. She should have known better than to think he would do anything so inappropriate. Rey swallowed back the bitterness in her mouth.

“Is there anything else I can further assist you with Dr. Solo? Did you need your pillows fluffed or more blankets?”

“No, I am quite content,” Dr. Solo said in that tranquil way of his.

On the bedside table sat bottles and pills. It seemed like too much for one person, but he was a physician. He had to know what he was doing. After super he would probably take his medications and be asleep by the time she came back to collect his dishes. Now would be her only opportunity to speak to him, even if it was bad timing.

“Sir? May I be so bold as to speak with you?” Rey rushed the words.

“Is this of a serious nature?” He appeared concerned. “Do you need to make a private appointment, I could arrange something over the next few days?”

“It is rather urgent, Sir. It has to do with your brother, Mr. Ren. And this should be treated with great delicacy, which is why I thought it prudent to bring the matter up with you as soon as possible, and without involving any of the other staff." 

Putting down his spoon, he angled his body toward her, “Please, elaborate.”

Rey took a large breath, determined to let everything out. “Sir, for your safety, I think that you should expel your brother from this house. His temper is volatile and he is always intoxicated. That is not even the worst of it. He brought in strangers late at night and he forged your name on legal documents. Furthermore, I witnessed them speaking about your colleague, Dr. Snoke. I do not know what connection there could possibly be between him and your brother. You may be in danger, Sir, ” Rey implored.

“How did you find out about these dealings?” Ben Solo never raised his voice, but he was now. “Were you out after 10 pm when I explicitly told you not to?”

Rey took a step back. His words were like a slap to the face. He was not concerned for their safety or Mr. Ren’s illegal activity, but the fact that she failed to follow an order? Her tongue stiffened in her mouth. Even if she knew what to say in that moment, she didn’t think her voice would function.

“Miss. Jackson, you should not have been near my brother or any of his guests. You certainly should not be eavesdropping on matters that do not concern you.” His words made her feel like she was a small child being reprimanded. 

Rey’s hackles raised. She had never been even the slightest bit irritated by Dr. Solo in the past. 

“If any harm is coming to you, than it is my concern,” Rey thundered. Her words hung in the air as the room filled with an oppressive silence. 

Dr. Solo’s mouth parted and a large huff of air escaped his mouth. He wrinkled the sheets in his grip, as if restraining himself from other actions. His face was beautiful and the depiction of tragedy. In the heat of the moment Rey had said something too personal. Holding her breath she waited for his reaction. 

“Please,” he said. The word sounded pathetic and desperate from him. Rey wanted to comfort him. His eyebrows peaked as his mouth turned down. “If you care for me as you say you do, then stay away from him and this matter.”

Rey wanted to protest and fight him back on this, but she knew any request Benjamin Solo made in that tone she would gladly follow. 

This time his hands came up as he reached toward her, hesitant and painfully slow. When he finally made contact, he caressed her cheek with a touch lighter than a summer breeze. Rey’s eyes closed to lose herself in the sensation. The tips of his cold fingers left fire in their wake, branding her skin as they trailed along her jaw. Long nimble fingers traced her lips causing her to shiver.

“Don’t be afraid. I feel it too,” Ben crooned.

Her body felt weak and pliant, as though he were a potter and she was the clay he bent to his will. She wanted to reach up and cover his hands with her own, to keep them there, to guide him to stroke her fully, without restraint. This felt right. This felt like home. 

Much too soon, he pulled back. Rey felt like a babe ripped away from the comfort and safety of their cradle. She watched as he straightened, placing his attention back to the soup beginning to chill in front of him. If Rey still didn’t have the memory of his touch so fresh in her mind, she would have thought she imagined it. Dr. Solo hunched over his food without a side glance.

“Thank you, Miss. Jackson. Your services are greatly valued,” he said with professionalism.

Rey took this as her sign to leave. “I shall leave you in peace, Sir.” Rey scurried from the room.

In the shadowed hall, she did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Dr. Solo had finally expressed his feelings for her, but dismissed her not two minutes later. She placed a hand over her erratic heart. They were alone together. No one would have interrupted if they had indulged themselves. Perhaps she should have been thankful for Dr. Solo’s restraint. If it were up to her discretion, they would not have stopped whatever they were doing so soon. She clapped a hand over her mouth as delighted giggles threatened to break free. 

Replaying the events however, quickly slid the smile from her face. He had told her to stay away from Mr. Ren and his dealings. He had not said he did not believe her, only that he did not want her involved. Rey believed, Dr. Solo was aware of his brother’s delinquency and Dr. Snoke’s participation. He might have already been taking some kind of action of his own. Holding her head higher, she went to her chores with confidence.

****

For three days everything went back to normal. They passed as if there had never been an interruption in their lives. Dr. Solo came on time to every meal. During the days he went to the University to help with experimental studies, and was a guest lecturer in many of their classes. His health had greatly improved since that first night and his spirits were higher. Rey and Dr. Solo even began to have their secret glances again. After the incident in his bedroom, he had not made a single move to try and touch her again. He made special efforts to make sure their hands didn’t touch. If Rey was disappointed by the physical distance, it didn’t matter much to her. Eventually, someday they may have another encounter like they had in his bedroom. It had happened once, it could happen again. Rey spent any free moment she had daydreaming about his touch.

The rest of the servants were relieved to not have Mr. Ren to attend to. Rose and Paige had been spared dealing with Mr. Ren, having followed Dr. Solo’s rules about avoiding him at all costs. Even the Tico sisters however felt as though a repressive miasma had fallen on the house in his occupancy.

On the fourth day of Dr. Solo’s return, the morning had been like any other. Mr. Mitaka escorted Dr. Solo to the University after his usual breakfast. That night though, Mr. Mitaka came home very late, and very alone.

He explained to them, ordinarily Dr. Solo would have summoned Mr. Mitaka at the carriage house to return for the evening. When it had become late, Mr. Mitaka went into the nearly empty University searching for Dr. Solo, only to have Dr. Ackbar explain he left some time ago. Mr. Mitaka went to his office and found a letter on his desk inscribed with his name. Dr. Solo had written saying urgent matters had pulled him away and he barely had time to write. He instructed Mr. Mitaka to return without giving any indication of his whereabouts.

Two more days went by without a word, and Rey paced the floors of her bedroom at night. Finn was about to call the authorities when a letter came through the post. Dr. Solo apologized for any distress his abrupt departure had caused. He said he would be gone for another few days and he was working on some break through research with fellow doctors rather far away. He mentioned that Mr. Ren may or may not be back again and to be alert if he were to arrive unexpectedly.

Rey’s joy sunk to the floor. She had to keep reminding herself she and Dr. Solo didn’t have a personal relationship. She should not have felt so abandoned, but the lonely orphan girl inside her stubbornly would not listen to logic. 

Rey became irrationally angry with Mr. Ren. Somehow she saw all of this as his fault. Dr. Solo’s odd behavior and him being away had something to do with him. At meal times Rey didn’t participate in their conversations. She hardly listened to them anymore. They all just shamelessly gossiped about Dr. Solo’s behavior or the crimes that seemed to litter the paper’s front page. Rose would often try to include her in conversations and make her smile. Rey appreciated the effort even if it yielded no results.

The third day after Dr. Solo’s single letter, Rey lay in bed that night. She closed her eyes tight, trying to force herself to sleep. The slamming of the front door made her startle. She flew down the hall to spy out the front window. There was no carriage so Mr. Ren or Dr. Solo could have returned. From the fourth floor there was no way she would be able to hear what was going on. Going downstairs was not an option. Dr. Solo begged her not to be out of her room after 10, and here already she was being nosy. Inhaling a steadying breath she shuffled back to her room. In the morning she would know for sure which one had come back.

***

“And then this giant serpent came out of the sink, but instead of striking me, it asked, ‘Would you like a spot of tea?’ In the dream it was as if it was the most mundane thing to happen…”

Rose and Paige joined Rey as she clunked down the many flights of stairs to the kitchen. Rose regaled them with the tale of her dream the night before.

“Do you suppose the dream means something?” Rose inquired.

“Yes.” Paige rolled her eyes. “It means that you should stop pilfering the kitchen sherry and drinking it before bed!”

“You know I have not done that for a very long time,” Rose whined.

Rey forced a smile. They walked down the dark corridor to the kitchen and servants dining quarters.

Finn, Maz and Mr. Mitaka were already there listening to Finn who threw his arms dramatically as he spoke, “… then he tells me that he wants me to go out and buy him more whiskey. WHISKEY! As if the half bottle he had in there already was not enough.”

Rey’s stomach rolled. It sounded as if Mr. Ren had returned last night.

Maz puckered her lips in agitation as she poked the eggs in the pan. The silver tray they used to serve Dr. Solo his breakfast was now being used for Mr. Ren. It felt like a betrayal for him to eat off the same dishes.

“Rey!” Finn had said blustering over to her. “Mr. Ren requested that the ‘wide-eyed skinny servant girl’ serve him is breakfast. When I told him that Mr. Mitaka and I were the only ones permitted to serve him, under Dr. Solo’s orders, he threw a tantrum. An expensive vase is now smashed. A mirror was yanked from the wall and tossed across the room!”

 

The mere mention of his name made her light headed, as though she were experiencing an episode of vertigo. A flash of their last encounter caused her pulse to quicken. Her tongue sat in her mouth feeling fuzzy and dry. 

“I have to go to the local liquor store and get more whisky. The half bottle he had in his room from last night seems to be insufficient,” Finn grumbled more to himself than to them.

***

 

Rey felt a sense of déjà vu standing outside of Mr. Ren’s bedroom door. Not even a week ago she waited outside Dr. Solo’s quarter’s holding the same tray with food. His morning meal was not as modest as Dr. Solo’s, three fried eggs with sausage and four pieces of toast. It wasn’t cheap, and she wondered if Dr. Solo was paying for Mr. Ren’s expensive tastes. She grit her teeth before knocking.

“Enter,” came a commanding voice.

The master suite was at least three times larger than the space Dr. Solo inhabited. The large window’s curtains were wide open, so the light almost blinded her in comparison to the dark bowels of the lower levels she had ascended from. Once her eyes adjusted, she gaped at the destruction in the room. Beautiful vases, and decorative mirrors were toppled and strewn on the floor. The fancy bedding had been kicked off from the bed, crumpled next to the mattress. Chairs were on their sides and Rey wanted to scream. She, Rose and Paige had spent hours making the room spotless only for Mr. Ren to ruin it all. Rey had never owned anything so fine as the treasures in this room, and he treated it like garbage.

“Do you plan on serving me my breakfast or are you just going to stand there?” Mr. Ren asked as if bored.

Rey saw him for the first time and sucked in a breath. Any fierce retort she had planned to spit at him was choked back. He was lounging in the bed, paper open and a full glass of whisky in hand. His long hair ruffled haphazardly. His facial hair had seemed to grow in more since his last visit. Sitting up, he leaned against the headboard in the center of the bed. His wide frame took up considerable space. He was not wearing the long, collared nightshirt respectable men wore. He lay uncovered and nude from the waist up. Is lower half adorned only his thin white undergarments leaving very little to the imagination. Averting her eyes her face heated and she knew she was turning scarlet.

Willing her hands not to quiver, she placed the tray on his bed. After placing it down she spun around to flee.

“I need this room cleaned up,” Mr. Ren said.

Rey kept her back to him as she explained, “I will fetch Mr. Storm for you, Sir.”

“But you are already here,” he said before she heard him take another substantial gulp of his liquor. “Clean this up and then you can take the empty tray with you.”

Rey clenched her lids tight along with her fists. 

“Do you have a cowl or something you can put on?” Rey sputtered. 

“No,” he said, as she heard him shift in his bed and crinkle paper. 

Rey huffed. Without a word more she got to work, zipping around the room straightening up the items. She noticed only a few of the articles were actually broken; they seemed strategically upended. The sounds of flatware scraping against the china filled the quiet. Mr. Ren’s observation of her weighed heavily, feeling like a physical press on her back. 

She shot a scowl in his direction, but unlike Dr. Solo who had at first looked away when he had been caught staring, Mr. Ren kept his piercing intensity zeroed in on her. If Rey had found Mr. Ren intimidating the first day they met, it was nothing compared to now. The scar across his face added a savageness unrivaled by any man Rey had encountered. She had heard tales of fearsome jungle cats in the amazon. This was what it must have felt like to be caught by one deep in the wild, far from help.

He wanted to intimidate her and make her feel uncomfortable, but she would not let him. She peered back unwavering. He must have seen something in her because he smirked. “Have you talked to my brother about me, yet?” His voice rumbled.

Rey’s eyes reduced to slits. “If that is all. I will leave you in peace.”

A serpentine smile stretched across his face. “I told you he would do nothing.”

“How do you know he is not just biding his time?” Rey taunted.

Mr. Ren scoffed. He folded the paper beside him and drained his glass, then placed it on the tray. “Because I know Benjamin Solo. He is a man too weak and afraid to fight back or stand up for anything.”

A rabid protective streak caused Rey to yell, “You are wrong.”

“Am I?” Mr. Ren asked. “The ferocious way you stand up for him, do you desire him?”

A lightning bolt struck her as she stood there and blinked without an answer. She had not meant to be so transparent.

“You do, don’t you?” Mr. Ren asked curiously. Her lack of an answer was confirmation enough for him and he continued. “You are beautiful, clever, hard-working and fierce. Even I can see that only just having met you. There is no possible way Ben wouldn’t covet you. And if you are as blatant with your admiration around him, as you are now, then there is no way he has not noticed. Tell me, girl, has he taken you to his bed?”

Rey’s insides liquefied. She could feel the heat of embarrassment making her want to shrink away.

“How easy you are to read. I could tell the moment you walked in here the degree of your purity. He is someone too meek to take you.” His words should have been cruel and cutting but instead they were soft.

“No, he is a gentleman! He respects me. I am not an object, which is why he has always kept himself at a distance,” Rey fought back. She didn’t know why she was even entertaining him with conversation.

“A gentleman?” Mr. Ren stood from his bed and sauntered closer. She watched as his muscles shifted beneath his alabaster skin. Pink scars peppered his body, some more noticeable than others. His body could have been carved from marble like the statues in the museums. “I am sure that is what you would think. If you are both consenting and of age, he would not be taking what you were not willing to give. And if he was worried about your virtue, or his for that matter, then as a true gentleman, wouldn’t he ask for your hand?”

“I am a servant he could never ask for my hand,” Rey choked, as her throat grew tight. Mr. Ren knew exactly what wounds to prod, as she struggled to reveal nothing. 

“So you are a servant? Why should that matter? Does he not act because he is unsure of the depth of his affections for such a commitment, or is he so concerned with appearances he would deny you because of status?” He was so close she could smell the cloying aroma of his liqueur. Under the bourbon he had a heady masculine scent, which Rey discovered, drew her in. “Perhaps he would rather leave everything calm and undisturbed in case he were wrong and you rejected him.”

Rey in the smallest part of her mind had always worried about these things, but pushed her doubts down.

“You say I am a coward, but I would not be so foolish as to let any of those excuses stand in my way if I were him. I would rather bleed, and break with my still beating heart being crushed in the hand of the woman I love, than remain silent about how I felt. If it were not possible to be with my paramour I would do anything, even burn London to the ground, to be beside her. If death himself tried to drag me away, I would sell my soul to the devil to live, so I would not abandon her.”

His naked want and unflinching honestly had Rey believing he was not talking about some faceless hypothetical woman. Her breaths were labored as she felt feverish.

His large palm came up and cupped her chin tilting her head back. His other hand brushed her slender neck in steady languid brushes, teasing her skin. This felt different than it had with Dr. Solo. With Dr. Solo she felt warmth, peace, and belonging. Now her mind screamed this was wrong, as her nerves ran wild. She felt out of control and chaotic but somehow she craved more, more, more, as a pulsating longing demanded she listen. 

A sharp knock to the door snapped Rey from the spell she was under. Disgusted and appalled with herself, she moved to put as much space as possible between them.

“Mr. Ren,” Finn’s voice came from the other side of the door. “I have the refreshment you requested. The highest proof available.”

Rey scrambled to collect the soiled dishes and serving platter while Mr. Ren appeared unaffected, strutting about the room in only his underwear.

“Enter,” Mr. Ren called.

Finn came in and the shock of witnessing Mr. Ren’s level of undress, caused the bottle he cradled in his arms to nearly fall. 

“It is a about time.” Mr. Ren snatched the whiskey and pulled off the corked top, pouring the amber liquid down his throat.

Finn and Rey gaped as he consumed a quarter of the bottle right before them.

Finn stuttered, “Mr. Ren, you really shouldn’t-”

But Mr. Ren cut him off. “This won’t even serve to make me tipsy. Why do I even bother?” 

He set his sight on Finn and Rey as if he had forgotten they were even there. 

“You can both leave now. You are dismissed,” Mr. Ren waved his hand at them as if to shoo them away. “Mr. Storm, I will be leaving for the day, but I will be back tonight. Stock my room with wine, fruit, cheese at 8pm sharp.”

Finn curled his lip in agitation but responded with, “Yes, sir.” They left, closing the door firmly behind them.

“What an utter, arrogant beast!” Finn spit.

Rey followed Finn, but she looked back over her shoulder a few times in the direction of Mr. Ren’s quarters.


	8. Tell Me To Stop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm adding dubious consent to this. Remember this is fiction, with fictional situations and characters. I would rather be overly sensitive with the warnings, just in case.

Rey, Paige and Rose had just sat down for the day. They had taken down all the curtains, beat them and washed them. They filled all of the oil lanterns and lamps in the house. They brushed the rugs and dusted every surface of the house. Rey felt like the duties were never done. She blanched to think of what her workload would look like if there were greater than two people living there.

Through out the day she checked the time. It was nearly 8:00pm now. She told herself that the only reason she was checking the time was because she was looking forward to retiring for the evening. Deep down she knew it was a lie. Mr. Ren said that he had wanted his room stocked with wines, cheese and fruit at 8pm sharp. She doubted Mr. Ren was having his unsavory friends over. He had made himself very clear to Mr. Hux he did not want anyone to know he was there. The mystery of him wanting these things in his chambers nagged at the back of her mind. Kneading her temple with the tips of her fingers, she tried to force her headache to go away.

The effort of her not to analyze exactly what happened that morning took its toll on her sanity. Uninvited thoughts flashed in her mind throughout the day. She thought of his skin, so much of it rippling and on display. Longing nagged inside her to know what he felt like under her hands. His body was probably as hard as steel but smooth to the touch. His large hands had cupped her face and he had drawn close. There was no mistaking the intention in his eyes. If Finn had not interrupted them, what would have happened? Would she have accepted his mouth on hers? Would she have pulled him in closer and divulged in wicked pleasure or would she have pushed him away? And if she had pushed him away, would he have retreated, or would he have been persistent? He made it quite clear nothing would stop him from what he wanted. If he wanted her, would he have taken her like those men did in the racy books Rose kept under her bed?

Rey was furious with herself. Not one day ago she was thinking about Dr. Solo, and now her mind was racing with similar thoughts of Mr. Ren. Her musings of Dr. Solo were fond memories, but with Mr. Ren they were confusing and frustrating. How could Mr. Ren wreck such havoc on her nerves? She loathed Mr. Ren, but her body stubbornly refused to listen to her brain. Maybe the blame laid with the fact his face was so akin to Dr. Solo.

The door downstairs slammed shut, echoing in the quiet house. Rey ran to the railing with the other girls, straining their hearing to find out what was happening. All Rey could decipher was the hurried anxious voice of Finn and the booming shouts of Mr. Ren. Finn’s voice climbed in volume, but not Mr. Ren’s. The girls exchanged concerned looks.

Another slam of a door was followed by clunking footfalls coming closer to them. All three scattered to make it seem as if they were not spying. Rose took a rag and began polishing a door handle. Paige dusted the decorative table in the hall. Rey swept the immaculate hall.

Finn made it to the top of the stairs with a dark scowl.

“Rey?”

She fixed her attention to Finn, wide eyed as if she had no idea he was coming their way.

He gave a labored sigh, as his expression appeared guilty. “Mr. Ren is requesting - no demanding - you be the only one to serve him while his is in this household.”

“What?” was all Rey could answer. All the air seemed to have been sucked from around her. She became light headed.

“I told him that I would not allow it,” Finn said, the memory stoking his defiance. “But he said that if I didn’t, every single one of us would be put out into the street before Dr. Solo returns.”

Rey felt numb. She stood dumbstruck and sick.

Rose puffed her cheeks out and Paige curled her lip just as outraged.

“I don’t care if he were to let me go for not following orders, but I will not allow him to put anyone else’s livelihood in jeopardy. Rey, if he does or says anything to you, you feel is even remotely inappropriate, tell me immediately and I am going to take care of it.”

Finn placed his hands on her shoulders as a reassuring gesture. The truth was Rey was less frightened of Mr. Ren than her own responses to him.

“I can handle him Finn,” she said it with such confidence she even believed it.

He pushed out his bottom lip and shook his head, “I don’t like this at all. The items he requested are downstairs with Maz.” Finn pulled out his pocket watch. “It’s five minutes til 8. I suggest you go right now.”

Without delaying a moment longer Rey flew down the stairs, half terrified to be back alone with Mr. Ren.

***

When Rey knocked at exactly 8pm, Mr. Ren answered. She stepped inside and he was tightly wound. Something had happened to him while he was out. The front of his clothes were wrinkled and his knuckles bled, red streaming down his fingers. Red splashed the front of his white dress shirt. His hair stuck up in odd angles, ravaged, and some how carnal, as thought that’s what his hair would resemble in the throws of passion.

Rey’s ragged breaths scraped against her throat. Where had he been and what had he been doing? Neither one spoke to each other. Mr. Ren studied every detail of her to the point she could feel the heat of his attentions piercing her. She held the tray up high as if she could use it as a shield.

He snatched it from her grasp and dropped the tray down on the nightstand beside the bed. Before Rey could protest, he spoke.

“Draw me a bath,” He said evenly and calm. His voice did not match his haphazard appearance.

“Mr. Storm would be-”

“I didn’t tell Mr. Storm to draw me a bath, I told you,” Mr. Ren growled. His attentions flicked to her face and her dress. “What’s your name?”

Rey had not realized he did not know her name. She blinked surprised like an owl. “Rey.”

“Rey.” He repeated, like he was tasting her name and rolling it around in his mouth. He pointed with his chin to the attached bathroom. “Draw me a bath. I have had a very… productive day. I need to relax.”

Rey braced herself and took a breath to tell him he could draw his own bath, when Mr. Ren began to free himself of his wardrobe. She rushed into the water closet puckering her lips in annoyance, making sure not to turn around.

She lit candles and lamps enough that the room had an orange glow. The main room may have had gas lighting, but this room did not.

Kneeling beside the copper tub, she turned the handles for the water. Dr. Solo being an affluent man, had access to hot running water in his home. It was a luxury that Rey enjoyed on rare occasions. The bathtub slowly began to fill. Rey pulled back her sleeves and tested the water’s temperature with her hands.

Her face flamed all the while. If she were honest with herself, she wanted to turn and face Mr. Ren, as bare as the day he was born. She would drink in every centimeter. But she was a lady and he was a vile man. Rey should know better than to entertain the idea of admiring his physique.

What exactly happened to him while he was out? With his drinking habits and his temper she could only imagine that he got into a brawl.

Rey withdrew her arms from the water. She felt the atmosphere shift, as Mr. Ren entered. Her skin scorched under her dress, hyperaware of his presence. If she kept her eyes on the same spot on the floor, she could avoid him.

Rey could not see above his knees and fought herself to keep it that way. The water sloshed as he stepped in. A soft satisfied hum rumbled from him.

Pivoting on her heal, she turned to go as fast as she could, but a large strong hand wrapped itself around her forearm stopping her. His fingers circled her arm entirely.

“Let me go,” Rey bit out, ready to fight tooth and nail if he tried to subdue her.  
She was stunned when his other hand came and traced the light scars that criss crossed her skin. His touch danced, soft and slow.

“Where did you get these?” His voice was sweet and smooth like warm, fresh toffee.

Her first instinct was to snatch her arm from his grasp and bare her teeth at him, but there was something about the way he spoke and the way her flesh tickled under his skimming fingertips that stopped her. The wounds on his knuckles, depicted hands capable of violence and brutality, but their movements on her now were contrary to that.

“When I was very young,” Rey answered choosing her words carefully. “I was small. A street thug would give me food, if I got items for him. I was stealing and I knew it was wrong, but the orphanages didn’t always have enough resources for everyone. If I failed to retrieve the things I was told to get, he would strike me.”

Mr. Ren’s hand stilled, then he wrenched back from her like he had been burned. Rey kept her attention on her arm, where his hands were moments ago.

“This street thug,” Mr. Ren began. “Does he have a name?”

Rey shrugged not knowing why he would want such a useless piece of information. “I don’t know his real name. He just went by Plutt.”

A long stretch of silence passed.

“May I take my leave, sir?” Rey hoped he would dismiss her.

“No. I want you to go into the bedroom,” he began, and her heart raced. Would he order her to do something obscene? She imagined him demanding that she strip and lay exposed on the sheets of his bed. Her lips would tremble as her skin chilled awaiting his clean slick body to glide against her’s. “Place fresh clean robes for me on the bed. Take my dirty clothes to be cleaned, then I want you to wait in my suite until I am done. I will need you to help me clean my injured hands. You may drink the wine and eat the fruit and cheese, as much as you would like while you wait.”

Rey shook her head. What he was saying could not be right. She didn’t understand.

“Mr. Ren?” Rey asked.

“Tonight, you are my guest.”

***

Rey did as she was told. While holding Mr. Ren’s clothing to bring downstairs, she inspected them. There was no doubt that there was blood on the front of his dress shirt, but there was something else too. Dark stains spotted his shirt and also his dress pants. Bringing it to her nose she sniffed, and her head jerked back. The scent was medicinal and strong. It could have been a very potent mixed liquor. Rey had heard of absinthe, but had never known anyone to sample it. She shook her head at his carelessness. With some hope, he might just drink himself to death one night.

***

As she waited for him to come out from the water closet, she did not drink one drop of wine. As tempting as the fruit and cheese sitting on the tray were to her, she abstained. Fidgeting she paced the room. Rey had brought up dressings and a bottle of antiseptic.

From her chair, she clearly heard the wet pop of the stopper being pulled from the drain. She should just leave. What would he do if he walked into an empty room?

His feet padded against the floor. She shut her lids tight and heard the rustling of fabric. After she was confident Mr. Ren had put on his nightshirt, she dared to make eye contact. The gossamer fabric was extremely revealing.

Mr. Ren sat on the edge of his bed and looked at her expectantly. Like a skittish ally cat she made her way over to him. The liquid saturated the white cotton cloth, and the acrid scent burned her nose. Mr. Ren held out his right hand as Rey placed it in her own. She dabbed at his joints and watched the crimson stain the spotless rag. Ripping thin strips of fabric, she meticulously wrapped his hands. They had not said a single word to one another and an electric hum grew, pulsating between them. Her hands nearly shook with the pressure in the air. His scrutiny was so tactile, he might as well have been groping her through her clothes.

As soon as Rey was done she stood to leave. A firm grip squeezed her waist, pulling her back and she nearly shrieked. Her backside sat on the edge of the bed caged in by two muscular thighs. A solid chest pressed up against her back. His left arm circled her, hugging her to his torso.

Rey snarled and snapped and struggled. It wasn’t until she felt his right hand travel up her ribcage that she froze. He trailed painfully slow, stopping just below her breast.

“I won’t do anything to you that you don’t want,” Mr. Ren said, burying his nose into her hair, the base of her head and temple. The ends of his hair were damp and they swept her jaw.

“What if I don’t want what you are doing to me right now?” Rey spit.

The chuckle Mr. Ren made rumbled through him, and Rey felt it rock her back.

“I know you want this. Because if you didn’t you would have screamed by now. You would have clawed at my arm until my flesh was torn to ribbons, my savage girl. Aside from a half hearted struggle, you have done nothing,” Mr. Ren whispered. She could feel his words spoken right behind the shell of her ear.

He sucked a lobe between his lips, and it was warm and wet. The sensation shot through her like a bolt of lightning. The apex of her thighs throbbed pleasantly and she moaned. Rey was shocked at herself. Never had such a sound ever come from her. It sounded wanton and erotic even to her own ears. Something hard on her lower back pulsated in tandem with her own sex. His uneven breaths reminded her of secluded dark corners in the streets of London. Late at night, she would often hear a man pressing a whore against a building, and him thrusting and panting. Rey would never admit it, but the illicit nature of it was so salacious, it made her weak in the knees.

Mr. Ren removed his hand from her ribs, and Rey almost protested at the loss. She was enthralled, under some kind of spell. She couldn’t think clearly, caught in a haze of yearning desire. His hand slowly began to unbutton the top of her high collared dress. He sucked, licked and kissed her neck as he exposed her further. Rey never thought torture could be so sweet, how he took his time undoing each button. Her breath hitched.

“Do you want me to stop, Rey? Tell me to and I will,” Mr. Ren strained, like it was laborious to force the words out.

He unfastened another button. As her dress came undone so did she. A need kept building inside of her, begging to be satiated. Her blood pumped hot and heavy as her mind slowed, intoxicated on Mr. Ren.

“I will give you pleasures you didn’t even know existed, as you writhe in ecstasy, tangled in my bed sheets. I will exhaust you so thoroughly you will need days to recover. And I promise you will revel in every moment of it.”

His filthy promises stoked her lust. Rey rolled her hips in his lap, trying to build friction where she needed it, causing Mr. Ren to hiss through his clenched teeth.

This was madness, and somewhere in the back of her mind her conscious screamed at her to stop. But there was another voice too that kept chanting, just a little extra, just a little further, just a little while longer… He was being so gentle, so slow. All of his attentions were on her. He was generous when he could have been ravaging. Rey knew if she let him go any further she would not have the presence of mind to desist.

As small and as quiet as a mouse, Rey managed to sigh, “Stop.”

Mr. Ren froze. The next button would have revealed the top of her cleavage to him. His arms fell away from her and he shifted to make space between them.

Rey stumbled to her feet on wobbly legs. The air from the room ignited every over stimulated nerve ending.

Moisture began to gather at the corners of her eyes as she watched Mr. Ren standing on the other side of the bed, with his back facing her. He was doing something to alter her. She had never been so lewd. It was Mr. Ren’s fault she had turned into this harlot. Disgusted with herself, she fled. Sprinting to her quarters Rey latched the door behind her.

She could still feel his lips on her, his tongue swiping her earlobe. As revolted with her self as she was, she knew she would not be strong enough to resist his advances again.


	9. Lies and Mysteries

Now that Rey was far from the influences of Mr. Ren, she felt like she could breath. Her mind cleared as if emerging from a drunken stupor. Screwing her face up tight she tried to erase the memory of being compliant in his arms. 

The girl back in Dr. Ren's room, was not who she is. Tomorrow she would avoid him at all costs even if he demanded for her, she would not obey. If she had known where Dr. Solo was at all she would have written him at once to inform him that she could not live in such conditions. 

Rey went to bed determined to take control of the situation in the morning. 

 

***

Rey awoke before the sun rose with confidence. After getting ready for the day, she headed downstairs with purpose, ready to stand her ground and tell Finn she would never step foot in Mr. Ren’s room again. 

“Mr. Ren didn’t tell me anything, he didn’t leave a note,” Finn slammed his fist on the table outraged. Mr. Mitaka was the only other person in the room and he flinched. “Spoiled cheese, spilled wine and unturned sheets littered his room! And it was as though he had just disappeared into thin air!”

Halting in the threshold, Rey balked at Finn’s rant. Mr. Ren had left without a word? Outrage coursed through her. Of course he would try to use her then disappear the next morning. 

“Rey!” Finn shouted. He clunked down on the bench beside the table. “Was everything alright last night? Did Mr. Ren do or say anything? Did he mention to you he was leaving last night?”  


Shifting her weight from one foot to the other she vacillated between telling Finn everything that happened last night and keeping it to herself. Something about last night felt too intimate to disclose. Coming face to face to openly say what happened felt wrong. What alarmed her most, was she wanted to keep it to herself. Not because of shame, thought there certainly was some of that, but because it was only hers and his, just between the two of them. It was a secret, hidden moment. How had her decision to expose him change so quickly? She warred with her head and her emotions. The wise thing would be to bring to light his dastardly ways. But the carnal wild beast that lived within her demanded she not ruin the possibility of future hedonistic indulgences. 

Mr. Ren had awakened a darkness inside her which endangered her self-preservation. She would not tell Finn what happened, but she would make sure falling prey to his temptations would never happen again, for her own sanity.

“No he did not say much of anything. However when he came in last night, his knuckles were split. Blood splattered the front of his shirt. He was agitated the whole while. I did not come back to his room to retrieve the food and wine because I didn’t feel secure entering the room again.”

Finn and Mr. Mitaka exchanged stunned expressions.

“I wouldn’t put it past him if he was the one causing all the murders in the city!” Finn accused. 

“As inclined as I am to agree with you. These murders and thefts were happening even before he came into town,” Mr. Mitaka speculated. 

“Maybe he was lurking around even before, Dr. Solo knew he was coming in London?” Finn deduced.

Rey knew violence and thefts were increasing the last few months, but since Jack the Ripper there had been so many murderers mimicking his behavior. Who was to say if it was one man or many? And who was to say that Mr. Ren had not joined the list of killers. Fresh fear slipped down her back. 

A loud crash and the sound of breaking glass cut the air. All three jerked their heads around. It had come from the same floor as themselves. They ran out into the hall. Yet another bang had come from the end of the hall. The dark metal door at the front end of the hall thumped and they could see the hinges shaking as if someone were fighting to get out. It was Dr. Solo’s lab. Another rumble and an ear splitting roar reverberated through. Mr. Mitaka, Finn and Rey rushed to the door. 

Finn reached the door first and jiggled the handle. The knob remained unyielding. 

“The door is locked!” Finn huffed frustrated. 

Dr. Solo’s lab was usually locked. There was a key that Finn kept only for extreme emergencies. They had never needed to utilize it before. 

“Hello? Who is in there!? Can you hear my voice?” Finn spit. 

“Yes! Please, It’s me! I have been locked in here without a key! Mr. Storm, fetch the spare and let me out!” 

Rey could only tell it was Dr. Solo’s voice and not Mr. Ren’s because of the lack of menace in his tone. Not until this moment did Rey know it was possible for someone to be locked inside of Dr. Solo’s lab as well as out of it. A reason for such a duel use caused dread to pool in her stomach, as disturbing thoughts for such a feature flooded her mind. 

“Immediately, sir!” Finn swiftly retrieved the hidden spare only Finn knew the hiding place of. 

Rey and Mr. Mitaka stayed by the door to calm Dr. Solo. 

“You will be alright. Finn is getting the key,” Rey assured. She placed her palm on the cool dusty surface.

Mr. Mitaka paced on the verge of a breakdown. This must have been too much for his delicate constitution. 

As Finn barreled back down the hall Rey and Mr. Mitaka parted to let him through. 

A loud groan caused the mechanism in the door to turn and a deep clank indicated it was unlocked. Finn pulled on the steel door with all his body weight. 

Once the door was fully open Dr. Solo fell face first onto the ground. He shook violently as he wrapped his arms around himself.

“Mr. Ren,” he sputtered. “We got into an argument. And he stole my key and locked me in there all night!”

They froze. After a moment, Rey crouched down taking hold of his arm and guiding him to sit up on the ground. He felt ice cold and he was as pale and thin as the first time he arrived back home after being gone for days. Rey wanted to hold him to her until his tremors subsided. Rage, hot and bitter bubbled at the back of her head. How dare Mr. Ren treat Dr. Solo with such abuse? 

Finn and Mr. Mitaka took an arm each and hoisted him to his feet. 

“Mr. Mitaka and I will take Dr. Solo upstairs,” Finn explained to Rey. “It sounds like he left a mess thrashing around in there trying to be heard. Clean up the worst of it and I will have Rose and Paige bring Dr. Solo fresh clothes and blankets. He is exhausted.” 

Rey nodded taking her duty very seriously. Her eyes lingered on Dr. Solo as they dragged him away. She so badly wanted to go with them to make sure he was alright but she would do her duty first. Once she had finished she would be able to go to him. 

Just thinking about Mr. Ren now caused bile to raise at the back of her throat. How could she have almost been swayed by his soft voice and touch? 

Rey had only been in Dr. Solo’s lab a few times since she began working in his home. The space smelled like chemicals and medicine with an undercurrent of mold, and damp stone. There was only one small window high up for ventilation, because they were mostly underground. It was hard to see anything, so Rey light a few lamps. She wondered how Dr. Solo worked in this dismal place for hours on end. 

Notebooks, scraps of paper with writing, and macabre medical books plastered every surface. Glass petri dishes, burners and oddly shaped glass receptacles were arranged in a maze. A chalk board on the far end of the room was covered in numbers and symbols she could not begin to understand. A green poisonous looking concoction splashed across the ground beside a broken flask. Parchment had been torn to bits beside it and the pieces scattered everywhere. Some of it even floated in the emerald liquid. Other small puddles gathered on the stone floor. A mirror had been smashed. Rey wondered how much of this was Dr. Solo making a ruckus to be heard or the result of an altercation he endured with his brother. 

Rey painstakingly organized and cleaned. She had wanted to be done quickly to be beside Dr. Solo, but she knew her taking care of his beloved lab would mean a great deal to him. Rey swept up the glass and disposed of the broken mirror. She sopped up the spills and swept the ground. Organizing his medical books on a case, a glint of metal caught her eye. 

Moving toward the gleam of reflected light, her brow fell low on her face. On the book shelf hidden between two thick texts was Dr. Solo’s lab key. It wedged there as if someone were trying to hide it. Biting her lip, suspicion held her tightly. There were only two keys to the lab. The one Dr. Solo kept in his constant possession and the emergency key only Finn knew the location of. Dr. Solo had claimed that he and his brother had an argument and Mr. Ren stole his key and locked him inside. Mr. Ren would have had to be outside the door with the key to trap Dr. Solo in the lab. 

Was Dr. Solo lying? But he would have no reason to. Rey supposed that the key hidden in the books was perhaps a spare, but why would Dr. Solo not know where a spare was kept to free himself? 

This didn’t add up. Rey didn’t know what to do with the key. She could leave it back where she found it. She could ask Dr. Solo if he knew what it was doing there. Rey could even pocket the key for herself. Maybe this was a third copy that Dr. Solo had forgotten he owned. That theory was highly unlikely however, because of how protective Dr. Solo was with the security of his lab. 

Rey pocketed the key. Until she knew what course of action she was going to take, she would keep it safe. If Dr. Solo had known the key was there, he would be looking for it later, but find it gone. If Dr. Solo was telling the truth and his key had been taken and he forgot he had a spare, than he wouldn’t miss it. 

 

***  
Rey had stopped Rose in the hall after she left Dr. Solo’s room.

“Is he alright?” Rey asked hovering by his suite. Blatant desperation colored her words. 

Rose looked up and down the hall as if making sure no one else was around. Grabbing Rey’s arm she pulled her into a vacant chamber. 

“I didn’t want to say this out loud incase Dr. Solo heard me, but he is ghastly!” Rose shook her head in pity. “Finn went to the store to get more medicines. It is not just that he is ill, but it is his memory too. We asked him what time he came in and where he had been the last few days and he could not answer us. His recollection is spotty. We asked him if he knew where his brother went and he has no idea. He couldn’t even tell us what they were arguing about. In the middle of sentences he just drifts off, his vision clouding.”

Rey didn’t want to believe it. How had he deteriorated so quickly? What was happening to him? Rey had no proof but all this trouble started when his brother came into town and the mention of this mysterious Dr. Snoke distressed her. Helpless to do anything, her heart sank. 

Rose’s tragic expression must have mirrored her own. “He is just lying in bed his attentions fixed on the ceiling. I think once Finn comes with more opium, Master Solo will sleep through until next morning. 

Rey swallowed thickly and nodded in agreement, her voice too fragile to speak. 

The knocker on the ground level clacked sharp and insistent.

“Who could that be?” Rose wondered. 

The two of them bustled to answer their unexpected visitor. Mr, Mitaka beat them to it greeting a swarthy gentleman with a bright smile.

“Detective Dameron!” Rey said with surprised delight.

Poe gave one of his blinding, heart stopping smiles. Beside her Rose’s pupils dilated and drool nearly slipped from the side of her mouth.

“Hello, Ms. Jackson. It is a delight to see you again after all this time,” He stepped forward and grabbed her hand placing a quick kiss to her hand.

“Hello! I don’t think we have met! I am Rose Tico,” she giggled like a little school girl.

“Well it is always a pleasure to meet a lovely young lady,” Poe took her hand and gave it a quick peck as well. 

Rey was sure that Rose dissolved into a simpering, blushing mess. 

“Finn is out if you are looking for him,” Rey explained.

“I do wish this were a social call, but it could not be further from that.” Poe sighed regretfully and his expression turned somber. “I have come to speak to Dr. Solo. It is rather urgent.” 

“He is not feeling well,” Mr. Mitaka jumped in. “Perhaps you should stop by at a later date.”

Detective Dameron’s frown deepened, “As I said I must speak to him. In my line of work time is a priority. The quicker we can get to the bottom of a situation the better.”

“Okay. You will have to speak to him in his room. He is quite ill,” Mr. Mitaka answered. “Rey, perhaps you could bring them up tea.” He turned back to Poe. “I am going upstairs to let Dr. Solo know you are here and if he is up for speaking to you.”

Rey didn’t want to miss a moment of what was going to happen. Detective Dameron didn’t just make house calls to be polite. He had to have had something serious to discuss. 

Maz was already in the kitchen boiling water, because they had planned on serving Dr. Solo something soothing to drink. With haste she organized the tea cups, tea pot, and bags on the tray. She grabbed the sugar jar and creamer too, arranging them nicely as if she had not rushed to spy on them. 

Her steps slowed as she got to Dr. Solo’s room as if she hadn’t sprinted all the way up. She shyly pushed open the door keeping her head down and her shoulders curled in making herself as small as possible. She heard Detective Dameron first.

“…Wouldn’t you say?” Mr. Dameron asked.

“What exactly are you trying imply, Detective?” Dr. Solo’s voice was cold. It was a tone she had never heard him use before. He was propped up in bed in his night shirt. There were bags under his eyes. His hair hung limp atop his head. Rey could see his blue veins clearly under the skin of his hands. 

“You know exactly what I am trying to say. I can spell it out for you though,” Detective Dameron’s voice sounded passive aggressive. “It’s very suspicious that all of these hotels in the bad part of town overnight came under your ownership. I don’t see why a doctor with your reputation would make such an uncharacteristic financial endeavor, considering they are just fronts for brothels.” Poe was sitting in a chair across the room. Because the space was so modest he was less than a meter away from the edge of the bed. Even so, he leaned forward, studying Dr. Solo’s every expression. “I also find it strange that you left Madam Phasma a former prostitute, and an estranged brother as charges for these businesses.” 

Rey grabbed a small decorative table beside Poe. She placed his tea there trying to remain as unnoticed as possible. Stepping beside Dr. Solo, she placed his tea on the bedside table. She took her time doing all this so she could listen more. Both men were so focused on the other, she doubted they even knew she was there. So Mr. Ren had essentially bought brothels under Dr. Solo’s forged name?

“And these same businesses have been the center of quite a few crimes as of late. Even your own brother has been causing fights and disturbances,” Poe’s voice steadily became more aggressive. 

Dr. Solo’s nostrils flared. His hands curled into fists and there was a fire flashing in his eyes. This was it, Dr. Solo was going to tell Poe that those documents were not signed by him, and what his brother had done to him just last night. Relief let Rey breathe easier. 

“Let’s be clear, Detective Dameron,” Dr. Solo said fiercely. “What I do with my own money and my own investments is no one’s business but my own.”

Rey could have been knocked over with a feather at his answer.

“It is the business of the police if laws are being broken,” Detective Dameron’s words were harsh. 

“I don’t know why you are questioning me then. I have broken no laws by buying legal businesses. What happens there is the responsibility of those that manage it. I will be clear. I think my brother is a scoundrel, but thought I would give him a second chance to improve himself, but he continues to disappoint me. I was unaware of the types of dealings at these establishments and just last night he attacked me, stole my key and locked me in my own lab. If I knew where he was right now I would gladly tell you, but I do not know about his daily dealings. Though he stays here from time to time, I do not know when he will be back. Chances are he knows how to hide well.”

Poe straightened in his chair. 

Rey nearly dropped the teapot she was holding at his explanation. Those were all lies. Dr. Solo never signed any ownership papers and he certainly wasn’t trying to fix a relationship with his sibling. Did Dr. Solo really not know about the key being in the lab? He had spent enough time there that he should know every detail of it and what was there. And why would he cover for Mr.Ren? 

Detective Dameron, reduced his eyes to slits as his upper lip pulled back. 

“If there is nothing else, Detective, I have had a trying night and would like to rest. You know your way out,” Dr. Solo said resting back on to his pillows. 

Poe gripped the lapels of his suit as he stood. “Make sure that you do inform us if you see him again.” Detective Dameron left stiffly, without even giving Rey a curt nod. 

Rey attempted to swallow the saliva thickening in her mouth. She felt lost, like there was a feeling of helplessness. There was no good logical reason Dr. Solo should still be going along with this. Taking a deep breath, she became rigid, ready to give Dr. Solo a piece of her mind.

Before even a squeak came from her, Dr. Solo raised his hand as if to silence her. “Please spare me your speeches. I am not mentally capable to process them at the moment.”

“Master Solo, the fact that you know I desire to give you a speech means that your guilty conscious is already making protests for me,” Rey replied. 

Instead of fighting back, a sad smile touched his lips. She wanted him to fight her, to argue back, but that behavior was more Mr. Ren than Dr. Solo. 

“You would not be Rey if you didn’t possess a fire that makes you burn brighter than the stars.” 

His flattery made her want to dissolve into a puddle of goo. 

“Dr. Solo,” Rey said. His adam’s apple bobbed as his eyes fixed to his quilt covered lap. “Ben.” She breathed.

Slowly he shifted to let their eyes connect. Unshed tears pooled on his lower lashes. 

Rey did not have the heart to criticize him. She believed in Dr. Solo and she loved him deeply. There had to be a plausible reason he was keeping secrets from everyone. What torture was he enduring that he suffered in silence? Her throat felt tight seeing him in bed, weak, broken and helpless. 

“Can’t you talk to me and tell me what is happening?” Rey kneeled down beside his bed, placing his hand in between two of her own. “I’ll help you.” 

Ben cupped her face and let the pad of his thumb run across her bottom lip. “Oh Rey,” he sighed as if resigned to something. “No one can help me.” 

Rey wanted to kiss him. She wanted to throw her arms around him and let their tears mingle and mouths slot together. Her whole being longed to hold him, comfort him and touch him until he thought of nothing else except the pleasures of their contact. 

“Just go. Forget you heard any of this,” Dr. Solo begged. 

“Dr. Solo?” Finn called from the hall. The door swung open and Finn entered with bottles of pills and liquids. 

Rey slipped her hands away from his grip and dabbed at her face with her apron. She sniffed and stood, forcing a mask of friendliness. 

“I will take Detective Dameron’s teacup back downstairs and leave your tea, Sir.” Rey said her voice brittle. 

Finn gave a solemn nod and had the courtesy to not mention what he had seen. 

Rey left, refusing to look behind her. Dr. Solo was not going to out his brother even if he hated him. He seemed frightened of him. She still had no idea what Dr. Snoke had to do with any of this, or why his brother bought properties under Dr. Solo’s name. Rey was tired of not having answers. If Dr. Solo was not going to do anything, than SHE would. There would no longer be waiting for Dr. Solo to solve things. He needed saving. She would be the hero, and take matters into her own hands. First thing in the morning, she was going to give Mr. Dameron a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a horrible person and should be committing to this story alone until it is done. HOWEVER I am regretfully a Fluff Monster when it comes to writing, who needs to write happy cute things. So my deepest apologies for not getting this chapter out sooner, because I have been cheating on this story with another one. (Oh, the scandal!) I value each and every one of you lovely readers! Thanks for sticking around with this literary floozy.


	10. A Spy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at 2 am. So I apologize if there are more errors than usual. Thank you for reading!

Rey had been able to convince Finn to let her do the grocery shopping. She had insisted he stay and watch Dr. Solo, because it would be more appropriate for Finn to be there if he needed to dress or bathe. Dr. Solo had been in bed all the previous evening and all that morning. Last time he was like this he had perked up much faster. The household could tell he would need much more time to recover now.

 

The thought of him ill in bed distressed Rey to the point of nausea. Dr. Solo used to be so healthy and strong. To see a shell of his former self, sunken into his pillows, made Rey want to never leave his side and nurse him back to strength. Before she could however, she had to take care of him in a different way.

 

Her heals clicked on the sidewalk as she pulled her modest coat around herself. She dodged the clustered people, pushing their way through the city. People shouted, wheels turned and horses clopped. Rey did not get out of the house much and everything around her was both too much and not enough. There was so much to see and be aware of her mind could not process all the stimuli.

 

She was a bit relieved when she stopped in front of the police station. It was a large square building located on a street corner. Oversized windows were set in the gray brick building. Taking a deep breath, Rey prepared herself to tell Detective Dameron everything, even about Snoke. Dr. Solo had warned her to ignore the crimes happening under their noses. She would not. This was for his own good.

 

Pulling open the door to the building, she startled. The space packed with bobby’s in uniform and criminals with their hands bound. They rushed around one another on a mission, as if they were a large colony of ants. Every sound amplified in the massive open space full of desks. There was one large counter off to the side with men standing and bickering with people who came in.

 

Rey shoved her way over to the desk.

 

“I am sorry madam,” A police officer huffed as he adjusted his hat. “but as we explained many times before to you, we cannot arrest your neighbor for whistling too loudly.”

 

“But it is indecent to whistle indoors,” the aged woman wrapped in a fur coat defended, hunched over with age. Sparkling earrings hung from her ears. A wide hat perched on her head. “And I can even hear him through the wall!”

 

The officer’s mustache twitched on his plump face. “Madam there is a murderer on the loose and you are worried about a whistling neighbor.”

 

“He could be a murderer! Someone who whistles constantly indoors is the sign of a depraved mind!”

 

The officer at this point ignored her and yelled, “Next please!”

 

Rey took her chance to jump in. “I am looking for detective Dameron. Is he here?”

 

“You are in luck, he just came in but that doesn’t mean he is free.” The officer bellowed, “Dameron! You have a guest!”

 

“I’m busy, Snap!” he yelled over the crowd.

 

“It’s a woman!” The officer shouted cupping a hand to his mouth.

 

Rey wanted to die of embarrassment, but everyone was too absorbed in their own dealings to pay much mind.

 

“I will be right there!”

 

Dameron weaved his way forward and stopped, pleasantly surprised to see her there. He wasn’t a regular foot policeman and didn’t wear the typical uniform as he emerged. “Why Ms. Jackson, what brings you by?”

 

“Hello detective,” Rey smiled.

 

“Please, call me Poe,” he responded politely leading her through the chaos to his  
desk.

 

As soon as they were at his heavy no frills desk, Rey leaned in. “Thank you –Poe. As you had said to us yesterday, I wish this were a social call but it is not.”

 

Poe’s expression before friendly now hardened, all business. “We should speak privately Ms. Jackson. There are a lot of ears.”

 

Rey bit her lip and nodded.

 

They walked to an office with the same type of desk set in the center and chairs. The door to the room had a window, but Poe pulled down the shade.

 

“I am assuming this has to do with my visit from yesterday?” Poe’s withering glare was not meant for Rey, but directed at whatever thoughts ran in his mind. “And if it is, telling me out there would have been disastrous.”

 

Rey nodded, “It is.” Rey swallowed. “Poe, I don’t know what else to do. Ever since Mr. Ren has come to town Dr. Solo has not been the same. Dr. Solo never bought those businesses, I saw Mr. Ren forge his name on documents. I don’t know why he is covering for him. He may be blackmailing Dr. Solo.”

 

Poe drank in the information like he had been handed pure gold. “What makes you say that?”

 

“Dr. Solo was recently working with a Dr. Snoke. I had never heard of him before.”

 

Poe’s eyes flashed, “Dr. Snoke? Ms. Jackson, are you absolutely sure you heard his name?”

 

Rey nodded more vigorously, “I am positive. His uncle came to tell him he thought what he was doing was a mistake, but that is not the strangest part of this. When Mr. Ren forged his brother’s name on those papers, there was another man and a woman with him and the man had mentioned Dr. Snoke being a private partner. I think whatever they are doing, Mr. Ren got information from Dr. Snoke about Master Solo to keep him quiet.”

 

Poe at this point was pacing, his eyes shifting. “A man and a women. Did you remember who they were, did they say names?”

 

“I can not recall the names at the moment, but one was a tall blonde woman and the other a thin redheaded man.”

 

At this, Poe slammed his hand down on the table, and the sound echoed in the room. “The redhead had to have been Mr. Hux, Dr. Snokes lawyer.” Poe’s body wound tight, holding tension in his shoulders. “Rey would you be willing to testify?”

 

Rey frowned. If it meant that she could help Dr. Solo the answer would be yes, but he had been so pleading when he told her to stay out of this. Rey clenched her teeth, “I would be.”

 

“Listen, I will be honest this is dangerous. If anyone were to know you were even thinking of trying to go against Allister Snoke.” Poe solemnly shook his head. “Let’s just say that we have had witnesses before and they either disappear or changed their minds about making a statement in court. Your testimony would be enough to charge him but to be found guilty we would need evidence. If Dr. Solo were willing to say, Mr. Ren conspired with Dr. Snoke to commit fraud-”

 

“No,” Rey said. “I don’t think he would get involved in this and under no circumstances he should find out about my participation in your investigation.” Rey crossed her arms gripping her elbows. “What has Dr. Snoke been accused of?”

 

“Ha,” Poe laughed without humor. “What hasn’t he been accused of? Some reports were bizarre or disturbing. If you are going to get into this, you deserve to know the risks. People have come forward claiming kidnapping and torture. Unfortunately, at first, it was not taken seriously, because the accusations were from disease ridden street rats, drunk or doped up. Prostitutes would come in saying that Dr. Snoke would ask for a particular girl and then they would never come back. There was no body so no murder. Once we started snooping around however, one of them showed back up, claiming that Snoke had paid them so well the reason no one else had seen the rest of the whores was because they bought a better life for themselves. With her vouching for his character and no physical evidence, there was no way a jury would convict him.

 

“He runs the asylum all the way out of town. The patience there have some crazy stories about him, but no one knows if what they are saying is real or all in their heads. They claim he does medical experiments on patience. We have had no way of knowing. We have long suspected Dr. Snoke is behind all of the odd thefts, missing people and murders, but we have nothing to link him to these crimes other than unreliable testimonies.” Poe blew out a long breath. “Now that you heard all that are you still in?”

 

Rey set her shoulders, after hearing all these terrible things; she did not want this man anywhere near Dr. Solo. Her resolve set. She squared her shoulders as she said, “Yes. I am sure. I will do what I can.”

 

Poe clapped his hands gleefully. “All you have to do is keep an eye out in Dr. Solo’s house. Watch Mr. Ren closely. See if he slips up. Let me know if that weasel Hux shows up again too. Anything you can find, maybe something you hear can lead us to hard evidence.”

 

“You can count on me,” Rey assured.

 

They shared a conspiratorial smile as Poe opened the door to the office.

 

“Heya, Dameron! You were in there quite a while with her and now you are both leaving with big smiles,” one of the officers called then whistled.

Rey ducked her head, turning pink.

 

“Hey, none of that! This here is a respectable lady,” Poe fiercely shielded her from the miscreants in the department, escorting her out.

 

They exchanged pleasantries as Rey left.

 

Rey had done all the grocery shopping and returned to Dr. Solo’s home.

 

It was getting late and the street lamps were being lit for the night. Rey had not seen Dr. Solo at all and wondered how he was fairing. She was going to help Maz clean the kitchen when Finn sought her out.

 

“Rey,” Finn said with a touch of affection. “Dr. Solo requested you come and read to him.”

 

Rey’s heart stopped. “Me?”

 

“Yes, he specifically asked for you,” Finn said kindly. 

 

“But I am not the best at reading, not as good as you, not by far,” Rey stammered.

 

“And yet,” Finn encouraged, “he still would like you to read to him. Would you deny an ill man’s wish?” He stretched out his arm, handing her a rather small leather bound hardcover book.

 

Rey tiptoed into the room just in case Dr. Solo was already asleep. She hoped he had, and she could avoid having to read to him. She didn’t enjoy the idea of having to stop in the middle of sentences and sounding out words.

A chair already angled toward the bed. Under the thick covers, Dr. Solo sat straight up. His sallow face smiled brightly at her presence, and her eyes stung at seeing his joy at her arrival.

“I almost thought you would refuse to come,” Dr. Solo said with relief. “Thank you.”

“It really is my pleasure, sir. I don’t think that I am the best for this job. I may be stopping more than reading,” Rey said with self-deprecation.

Dr. Solo pressed his lips but they still pulled up and his eyes shown with mirth. “Come sit on the chair and we will look over the words together. Just move the bedside table and sit right beside me.”

Rey pulled the table away and noticed all of the medical articles strewn about the table. There were bottles of medicine, antiseptic, and some needles. Rey wanted to ask him what he was ill with, if he even knew. Tucking her dress so she could sit, she placed herself in the chair.

She held the book in her lap and Dr. Solo leaned in to read over her shoulder. Her hands shook opening the cover. Rey knew she was sure to make a fool of herself in front of the educated Dr. Solo. The opening page said it was a book of sonnets. Rey never cared for poetry, never understanding what the writer tried to convey.

Her arm pressed against his, and being so close, she could see every detail of his face. His steady breathing soothed her enough to begin reading. “I think of thee.” Rey swallowed. She examined each word slowly and sounded it out in her head before saying it aloud. “My th- ough-.” Rey stopped feeling tears of frustration well in her eyes.

“It’s alright,” Dr. Solo cooed. His tone was intimate and she felt cared for. “It is a hard one, ‘thoughts’.”

Rey nodded and continued, still slowly. “My thoughts do twine and bud about thee, as wild vines, ab- about a tree. Put out broad leaves and soon there’s no- got, um, no-”

“This is is a difficult one just like the one before.” Dr. Solo took his large hands and long thick fingers and pointed at the word, causing him lean more into her personal space, so much she could feel the warmth of his body. “Nought.” 

As his hand pulled back away he bumped Rey’s that held the edge of the book. Rey giggled as Dr. Solo also let go of a chuckle. A fluttering joy elated her and she felt complete, full and idiotically giddy. 

“This is one of my favorites,” he confessed, joyful.

“Oh. I am so sorry I am ruining it for you,” Rey admitted shyly. 

“No, not at all.” Dr. Solo’s beautifully expressive eyes, appraised her as thought she were a long lost treasure. She saw his cheeks turn pink and her face flooded with heat. 

“Please, allow me to read it to you,” Dr. Solo beseeched. 

Rey nodded and had planned on handing him the book, but instead he read the poem as it remained in front of her. 

“I think of thee,” He recited. “my thought do twine and bud about thee, as wild vines, about a tree, Put out broad leaves, and soon there’s nought to see except the straggling green which hides the wood. Yet, O, my palm tree be it understood. I will not have my thoughts instead of thee.” 

Rey felt a slight waft of air against her cheek, from beside her. She turned to see Dr. Solo staring at her with an intensity that turned her bones to jelly. He had been narrating the poem by memory alone. Rey dared not turn away. She stared at him back with all the desire and passion she had in her.

“Who art dearer, better! Rather, instantly renew thy presence; as a strong tree should, rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare, and let these bands of greenery which insphere thee drop heavily down, -burst, shattered, everywhere. Because in this deep joy to see and hear thee and breathe within thy shadow a new air, I do not think of thee – I am too near thee. 

By the end of the poem, Rey’s breaths were labored. His eyes shined and she threatened to burst like a firework. Rey could listen to him speak for hours. His voice and the words he spoke had the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. She was almost sure he recited the words just for her, even about her. His eyes dropped to her mouth.

Rey wanted to question his new boldness, going so far as to ask Finn for her specifically, and reading love poems with her. And how she longed, oh how she yearned, for him to kiss her. 

More than a few times Rey’s eyes dropped to his full lips, pink like sweet candy. 

In the back of her mind she thought if he were Mr. Ren he would never hesitate. He would not leave her hanging on in agony. She pushed those thoughts deep down forcing them not to resurface. Rey wanted to stay up until the early hours of the morning just in one another’s company.

The door pushed open and Rey jumped to see Finn. 

He held a tray and some hot wet towels. He smiled at the both of them oblivious to the sexual tension growing between them. “Dr. Solo you will need your medicine for the night. This will put you to sleep.” 

After taking his pills, Dr. Solo’s lids grew heavy. He asked Rey to stay a little while longer, read to him a couple more sonnets before leaving. She did and watched his eyes glaze. He gave her a dreamy sort of expression, before sleep overtook him.

Before leaving, she looked upon his sleeping face. He was untroubled in his slumber, the crease usually present between his brows smoothed out. Rey decided whatever would transpire with the dangers she put herself in with Dr. Snoke, she would do it. For this man before her who she loved with every bit of her heart, she would kill for him; she would die for him.


	11. Jealousy

Days passed without even the mention of Mr. Ren. After his supposed scuffle with Dr. Solo in his lab, he had not returned. Rey hoped that he never would. She still kept the laboratory key hidden in her room. She should have said something to detective Dameron about it, but she feared it incriminated Dr. Solo somehow. Eventually she would ask him about it, however she shied away from the answer she might find.

 

Each day Dr. Solo's spirits raised. Rey knew this because she now spent hours in his company every evening and saw his improvement. They had created a sort of ritual. Dr. Solo would have a modest early supper and then call for Rey to read to him. It wasn't always poems. Sometimes there were stories.

 

One night Dr. Solo had even taught her how to write her name using fancy letters. He took his very own expensive brown leather journal to show her how to write. She recognized the treasured notebook, because Dr. Solo would often have it with him.

 

Her attempts never came out as pretty as when Dr. Solo did it but he was always so patient, and said such kind things to her. He would even cover her much smaller hands with his own, while holding a pen and helped her trace the letters.

 

Finn would see them together and he never gave them suspicious or disgruntled looks. He always seemed pleased with them. He had even pulled her aside to let her know how much her presence had helped improve Dr. Solo's health. Rey found herself floating as she went about the day doing her chores. Paige and Rose had to snap Rey back to reality, because she would find herself smiling and thinking about her next visit with Dr. Solo.

 

Nearly a week went by in complete bliss. Dr. Solo got dressed on his own again and would go for short walks around the block for fresh air.

 

It was with great disappointment Rey found out Dr. Solo would be returning back to his work. For reasons unknown to Rey, Dr. Solo thought Mr. Ren was gone for good. He didn't even bother changing the lock to his private lab. He had taken the spare from Finn and had ordered there to be another one made.

 

The first day Dr. Solo was to return to the university, Rey stood in the vestibule wringing her hands.

 

"Are you sure that you are well enough to go back?" Rey asked distressed. Her brows peaked and she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

 

Dr. Solo gave her an affectionate smile. "I feel very well and empowered."

 

Mitaka helped Dr. Solo slip into his overcoat. He shook his arms to shimmy into his jacket.

 

An overwhelming anxiety choked her. Urgency to stop him caused her to rush forward. Her hand extended as if to grab his arm, but remembered who she was and froze.

 

"Are you going back to Dr. Snoke?" Rey blurted.

 

All the color drained from Ben's face. An icy chill filled the air and Rey knew it was the wrong thing to say.

 

Mr. Mitaka's eyes moved back and forth between herself and Dr. Solo.

 

"Mr. Mitaka," Ben boomed causing the man to jump. "Go out to the coach. I will meet you there."

 

The moment his driver left, Ben bent down to Rey his voice strained, angry, but low. "Why would you ask me such a foolish question, out loud and in front of Mr. Mitaka? You told me you would forget about him."

 

Something wild and desperate flashed in his eyes. He had never looked so much like his brother. Some stupid part of her had believed that their week together sitting, reading, smiling and long gazes had meant she could speak to him like an equal. She was wrong. He spoke to her like she was a silly little girl playing with matchsticks. It infuriated her. She would not act as his doe eyed, complaisant servant girl.

 

"I know, Ben." Rey dared to use his first name baring her teeth to him. "I know who Dr. Snoke is. I know he is a horrid man and I hate that you are anywhere near him."

 

"Whatever you have heard, they are vicious rumors," Ben wouldn't meet her eyes as if he even knew he was telling blatant lies. He backed away toward the door, to leave.

 

"Please, Ben," Rey begged. "Don't do this."

 

He ceased only for a few long seconds before aggressively turning the handle and storming out the door. Tears leaked from her eyes.

 

***

 

Dr. Solo had not come home that night and Rey blamed herself. She cried herself to sleep the next few empty nights. Ben had not returned. Rey was unsure if he stayed away because of his work or because he took umbrage at what she had said to him.

 

The last week she had been soaring, light and elated. Now she felt a weight around her neck, pulling her down and choking her. The rest of the staff gave her pitiful stares. They seemed to share her sadness because they made less jokes. Rose was uncharacteristically quiet.

 

The next morning a letter came in the post addressed to her. Rey knew no one that would write to her. The puzzled expression of Finn told her he was wondering the same thing. There was no return address. The paper was made of fine stock. Tearing into the envelope Rey removed a neatly folded piece of paper. Her heart stopped when she saw the beautiful cursive she had become acutely familiar with.

 

She placed a hand on her heart as she read.

 

 

_Dearest Rey,_

_I trust that my tutelage has enabled you to read this with ease. Words could not express how much I adore our time together. You bring me such joy. I wish I had the bravery to say this to you in person._

_I apologise for getting angry with you when I left. I don't expect you to understand my actions and decisions, but I beg of you to trust me._

_There is so much I wish to tell you, to explain. Now is not the time to divulge such information, though I hope to someday soon._

_Stay safe._

_Always yours._

He had not signed it, but Dr. Solo had not needed to. She knew who wrote the letter. Rey read over and over "always yours". Was he really hers?

 

As she stood in the foyer clutching the note, like a lifeline, the front door banged open. A blast of cold air from outside, rustled the page in her hands and caused the person who entered to have their dark robes billow around them.

 

The imposing figure could be none other than Mr. Ren, and a strange mix of anger and arousal swirled around her. His scarred face gave her a cold smile.

 

"Did you miss me, sweetheart?" He asked, his eyes like flint.

 

Rey nearly crushed what she held, as tension coiled in her muscles. She belatedly realized she was ruining Dr. Solo's letter and was horrified at damaging it. She quickly folded it then placed it in her apron pocket as her nostril curled in distaste.

 

"You have some nerve showing up back here." Rey set her feet apart and rolled her shoulders back.

 

"I can't help but return to my home," Mr. Ren replied a bitterness in his voice.

 

Rey felt an unease that made her question what he was actually trying to say behind his words.

 

Finn rushed forward from downstairs.

 

"Mr. Ren," Finn stated surprised. He stood up straight as a board. "We were under the impression that you had left London for good." His hand tightened on the banister.

 

"Well you were mistaken Mr. Storm," Mr. Ren snapped. "I will have guests arriving within the hour. Be so kind as to escort them to my quarters once they show."

 

Rey's heart leapt. Guests? It must be Mr. Hux. Rey had to inform Detective Dameron as soon as possible. Her foot tapped with anxiety. If she ran out it would be much too obvious.

 

Mr. Ren handed Rey his coat with a condescending rise of his eyebrow.

 

She stomped over to the closet to hang his items and she thought she saw his cheek rise as if he were smiling, mocking her annoyance. His very large feet clopped up the steps.

 

Once he was out of sight, Rey breezed past an awkwardly standing Finn who stared up at the steps as if still caught off guard that Mr. Ren had returned.

 

Rey frantically searched for Mr. Mitaka, the edge of anxiety still causing her to be jittery. She finally felt she could breathe easy when she found him out back by the coaches.

 

"Mr. Mitaka!" Rey called. The man who had been leaning against a wall reading the paper jumped at the sound of his name.

 

"Rey? What the Dickens-"

 

Rey took a hold of his arm without him finishing. "Mr. Mitaka there is no time to explain, you must get detective Dameron and let him know to come here at once!"

 

"But Miss. Jackson!" He tried to stall.

 

"Now, Mr. Mitaka! Please." Rey practically begged.

 

He nodded with his eyes shut as if conceding. He folded the newspaper and handed it to Rey. She had intended to only bring the item inside until she saw the article Mr. Mitaka had been absorbed in. Rey gasped placing a shaking hand to her mouth reading about the latest murder.

 

_… body found was identified as, Unkar Plutt, the owner of …._

 

Rey's head spun as her stomach churned. Could this be a coincidence? She had mentioned Unkar to Mr. Ren and now he is dead. Her hand rested against the wall as she steadied herself.

 

On the other hand, Plutt was involved in dirty dealings and Rey thought at some point he would meet a tragic end. The timing was just too close though. Was Mr. Ren even crazed enough to kill a man who she mentioned once treated her badly as a young girl? It had to be something else. Mr. Ren was a criminal to be sure, but she didn't believe him to be a murderer. Mr. Ren had been gone an entire week however. That would have given him plenty of time to find someone to do the job if he hadn't done it himself. Taking deep slow breaths, Rey forced herself to calm down. She had to go back in the house as if she didn't know anything. She walked back into the house on tender hooks.

 

***

 

Rey tried to remain out of sight as Detective Dameron stormed the house. When Finn answered the door, Poe had let himself in. He had come even before Mr. Ren's guests. The household could hear the shouts clearly even if they were a floor away.

 

Detective Dameron accused Mr. Ren of illegal dealings. Mr. Ren threatened to sue for accusations without proof.

 

Their altercation didn't last long.The entire household heard Mr. Ren scream at Detective Dameron that if he didnt leave he would throw him out. Before it could get physical they heard Poe's feet slamming against the floor as he left. He pounded on the stairs as he left just as violently as he came in.

 

Rose rounded a corner in time to see Detective Dameron slam the door.

 

"Well if there is one thing we can say about having Mr. Ren here it's that there is rarely a dull moment."

 

The knocker to the door responded inside the house. This had to have been the guests Mr. Ren had been waiting on.

 

Rey opened the door with sweating palms not knowing who or what to expect. The two women waiting outside were beautiful and curvaceous. Their make up coated their face giving a cakey apprerience. One had almost blood red dark hair. The other had tresses long and canary yellow. Rey noticed their ample bosoms spilling over the top of their constricting dresses.

 

"'ello girl," the blonde one said with a thick cockney accent.

 

Rey didn't respond she just stood feeling a sense of vertigo. If there were any questions to who these women where her next words confirmed their identities.

 

"You mute girl?" The other asked. "We were sent here for a Mr. Kylo Ren. You can let him know madam Phasma sent us."

 

Rey felt like her mouth was drier than desert sand. These women were prostitutes. She saw Rose swallow and her eyes shift.

 

"I have been expecting you," Mr. Ren said from behind Rey. She turned to see him standing at the bottom of the steps, a wicked grin playing on his lips.

 

The women shouldered their way in, all but shoving Rey aside as they glided. Rose was glued with morbid fascination at the scene playing out.

 

Rey felt her temper steadily increasing at these women in Dr. Solo's home.

 

Mr. Ren opened his arms to the ladies so one was tucked in each side. The largest smile she had ever seen Mr. Ren make stretched across his face. But joy did not reach his eyes. He almost looked, irritated, begrudging.

 

"Come, I will show you to the bedroom," Mr. Ren purred. And even where Rey was standing she felt his voice quiver through her body, even if the words weren't for her.

 

The women squealed and giggled as they pawed at his chest.

 

Something dark and dangerous unfurled inside her. Fury and hatred. She especially found she was disgusted with the women, throwing themselves at him. Didn't they know who they were clinging to? They had no shame. Brazen whores.

 

Rey had no idea she was panting through her clenched teeth until Rose placed a hand on her shoulder. Rey snapped out of it long enough to see herself gripping her apron so hard she threatened to tear it.

 

"He has no decency!" Rey grit as an explanation to her severe emotional response.

 

Rey marched, trying to find the most labor intensive, time consuming job she could.

 

***

 

The heels of Rey's hands pressed on her ears, but it only dulled the sounds carrying through the air. She had wanted them shut out! It had been hours. HOURS. And the women's cries only seemed to get louder. If it were not for the persistent pleas of "oh yes" and "don't stop" Rey would have thought they were being murdered.

 

Even just passing the room briefly one could hear the wet slapping of skin. Mr. Ren's deep voice grunted and growled like a rutting animal. Rey would never admit it to anyone, but hearing him like that caused liquid heat to gather at the apex of her thighs. Rey's clothes all of a sudden felt much too tight on her. She pulled at the high collar of her dress.

 

The walls shook as the bed frame slammed into it. It was late afternoon. Did he intend for this to go on through the night as well?

 

Abandoning any hope of tidying up Dr. Solo's bedroom, Rey headed to the servant's hall.

 

Rose and Paige were there, obviously trying to find sanctuary from the violent love making. They all heard a particularly loud shriek and Rose crossed herself.

 

"I feel like I need to go to confession FOR him," Rose said taking a large swig of her water and fanning herself with her hand.

 

Finn walked into the room with his head down and his shoulders tense. No one was taking very well to Mr. Ren with his guests.

 

He collapsed into a chair before resting his forehead on the table and covering his head with his arms.

 

Blessedly the house began to quiet.

 

They turned to one another with relief. Their body's physically relaxed.

 

A bell clanged on the wall. Their heads snapped to the sound of the call bell ringing. Their eyes went wide with dread.

 

Finn's head lolled back as if he was begging a higher power for mercy.

 

"I will get that," Finn sighed. "I want to spare you ladies the atrocities that no doubt lay behind his bedroom door."

 

Rey shuddered.

 

If only Dr. Solo knew Mr. Ren was turning his family estate into a den of debauchery. The girls sat in silence as they rested and stretched their aching bodies.

 

Rey felt like they had only been sitting there a moment in silence before they heard Finn huffing and puffing.

 

Before anyone could ask him what was wrong he barreled ahead, "That madman, asked if I forgot that he only wants Rey to serve him! He threw a book at me! A book! He missed me by a foot. Probably because he was so intoxicated."

 

Rey felt her heart stop.

 

"We could just ignore him, Rey. You don't have to go up there and be around him," Finn insisted.

 

She set her face in a scowl. "I can handle him, Finn. It will take more than a book to bring me down."

 

***

 

Rey didn't even know what he wanted from her. Finn had explained Mr. Ren would not even tell him what he had called for until he saw Rey.

 

Closing her eyes she prepared herself to face him again. The moment she opened the door she felt the air in his quarters, thick with warmth and humidity. An odd perfume lingered in the room and it wasn't until Rey saw the hooka placed on a table she recognized the smokey scent associated with opium dens.

 

The prostitutes draped themselves on furniture while white vapor curled from their lips. One was barely dressed while the other shamelessly sprawled nude on the bed. Their eyes were glassy and unseeing as the drugs took their effect on them. They would be out in a matter of seconds.

 

Hot embarrassment prickled the back of her throat.

 

Rey was furious at being subjected to such a display. She didn't have to stay here for this. Going back to the door, she tripped backwards when she saw Mr. Ren with his back pressed up against the door, keeping it solidly shut.

 

"Going somewhere so soon?" Mr. Ren asked.

 

"What do you want Mr. Ren? If you have no use for my services then-"

 

"I called you here so I could get a good look at you," he said low and dangerous.

 

"Excuse me?" Rey balked, putting more space between them. Mr. Ren followed with slow steps.

 

"You led me to believe that you were a woman of virtue. Innocently pining after my brother when you were fucking Poe Dameron!" His voice raised on the last sentence.

 

Rey was bombarded with unbridled fury and she attacked. All swinging fists, kicking legs and scratching nails. Mr. Ren had expected it and grabbed her forearms. They grappled as Rey bore her teeth like a savage animal.

 

"You would say no to me but yes to him?" Mr. Ren roared.

 

"How dare you make unfounded accusations and question my purity, when you are laying with filthy whores!" She threw her weight, pushing him back as he stumbled.

 

"I hope he was worth it! He didn't even have the class to treat you like a lady. Using you in a room at the police station."

 

Rey's mind reeled as she yelled, "You are delusional." Their faces came closer as they argued. Rey heard her blood rushing in her ears.

 

"I know about you two. I have friends in very low places and they saw you and Dameron sneak into his office and close the blinds. You both left huddled together. I didn't want to believe it, but seeing him here so shortly after arriving made my blood boil." His voice cracked and if Rey didn't know any better, she would say that he looked hurt. "He probably doesn't stay too far away from you. If you were mine I wouldn't be able to either." His voice sounded weak, like he was loath to admit what he was saying.

 

The fight in Rey lessened only the smallest bit, just enough to not claw his eyes out.

 

"If you want someone like Dameron than I shouldn't care. There are other women who desire me. It is your loss. You long for spineless men like my brother and you fornicate with handsome men like detective Dameron, but they will never love you the way I could."

 

Rey thought she was going to be sick. Love? Mr. Ren didn't love her. She was sure he didn't love anything except his own physical pleasures. "Love? Rey asked. "You are mad, Mr. Ren. Do you even have the ability to show compassion?"

 

"I do. For you. I would do anything for you. I would die for you. I would kill for you."

 

A tendril of ice caused her to shiver. Had she not thought of something very similar when it came to Dr. Solo? The shock of his words and the memory of the report of Mr. Plutt caused her arms to go limp.

 

"Did you kill him?" Rey asked her voice shaking with something between fear and anticipation. "Ankar Plutt. Was it you?"

 

There was a long stretch of silence. Rey wondered if he would deny it, or make an excuse. His face remained unreadable. He would be wise to not admit guilt. For a moment she thought he wouldn't answer at all.

 

"I won't lie to you," he answered. His grip on her wrists loosened. "Hearing what he did to you…You are far too precious. I will not let anyone hurt you."

 

He didn't say outright that he had killed Plutt, but he didn't say no either. If she were being honest a dark part of her was quite glad he was dead.

 

His sincerity was touching yet unnerving, because intense rage stormed within him. Rey had never had anyone who cared so much for her they would fight on her behalf. He looked at her like she were some lost treasure. His vehement devotion sent a thrill of the power she held over this untamed ferocious man.

 

His hands slid down her arms and Rey should have taken the opportunity to run, to strike him, but she didn't. She allowed his touch to roam, his massive palm cupped a breast through her dress and the other squeezed at her backside, eliciting a startled gasp. She leaned against his chest. Her whole body vibrated, hypersensitive. Mr. Ren was so big, it called to some deep primitive part of her that screamed what a capable provider and protector he would be.

 

Mr. Ren hiked one of her knees up so she was forced even closer to him. She felt the heavy length of him against her core and he rolled. She groaned. Even through the layers of his clothes and her dress the contact was delicious. He repeated the motion and Rey felt some unnamed swell of elation roll through her like a wave of the ocean. She desperately needed him to keep moving, because she was climbing toward something glorious.

 

He leaned his head forward and she would let him devour her. Rey would greedily welcomed his mouth on hers, or anywhere he wanted. Her muscles felt weak and she shook. She realized he stilled, and it was her thrusting her hips manically against him. His hand left her chest and his fingers traced her face.

She felt his breath on her mouth as he admitted, "Including myself," but this time there was more sadness than ire in his words.

 

Saying she was shocked would have been an understatement. He must have seen something in her expression because he let her go and she stood in confusion. Her body cried out in frustration. Her nerves felt frazzled, yet he appeared calm and collected. Shame crashed down in her as she realized what she had been doing with Mr. Ren.

 

Her eyes fell on the prostitutes dazed from the drugs. Was she no better then them?

 

Mr. Ren walked away from her to sit at the desk in the room. The same one he had backed her into the first day they met.

 

He flipped open a brown leather journal. Rey's heart stopped as she noticed the very same book Dr. Solo had taught her to write in.

 

Mr. Ren jotted something inside. She was too far to see what it said, but Rey could see, he had the same looping beautiful handwriting as his brother. Rey itched to get closer. Had Dr. Solo left the book for Mr. Ren? Rey didn't like this at all.

 

"Tell the kitchen, I will be requiring a meal for myself and my guests," Mr. Ren said cooly, not looking up from his page. "I will be leaving first thing in the morning. This room is to be spotless when I return in the evening."

 

Mr. Ren slid the book off the table and tucked it away in the desk drawer. Rey wondered if Mr. Ren knew she has literate. Would he be doing this right in front of her if he knew she was?

 

Something prickled the back of her mind. Dr. Solo had only opened the notebook to blank pages. What was written in there previously? And what was Mr. Ren writing in there now?

 

She nodded and turned to leave with her mind and body still buzzing. She would be back tomorrow morning to read that journal.

 

"Give my regards to Detective Dameron," Mr. Ren said sarcastically.

 

At this, Rey left, slamming the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clean ups will be made during the week, because ya know, no beta.


	12. Brothers Grim

Late that night Rey lay wide awake in her bed. What kind of insane man was living under their roof?

 

Unkar Plutt was dead. Rey didn't know anyone who would be sad to hear of his demise. He ran with bad company, so there was a slim possibly someone else murdered him. It was possible, however Mr. Ren admitted he would die and kill for her, and not allow anyone to hurt her. Something that felt like being cared for, oddly warmed yet hollowed her at the same time. A craving stirred. He said he wouldn't even let himself hurt her.

 

She shifted in her bedsheets, listening to the rustle of fabric in the dark.

 

Her mind drifted to the timbre of his voice. _They could  never love you the way I could._ Fear and excitement sparked in her body. He wanted her so desperately and completely. She knew it was wrong to enjoy his extreme obsession, but Rey was alone all her life. Her parents had left her behind as if she were garbage. As a child she was neglected. Even working as a maid for Dr. Solo left her feeling isolated. This was something Rey had never experienced before.

 

No one had ever desired her so much.

 

She let her thoughts drift. Rey pictured his large hands claiming her, his mouth lavishing kisses on every inch of skin. As she clung to him he would say in her ear _I thought you were a woman of virtue_ , teasingly. Rey's face flamed thinking about it.

 

The moment their bodies joined she would keen and his eyes would go wide with the realization he stole her chastity. He would know she was never Poe Dameron's. She was never any man's.

 

The back of her mind whispered, _no man had your body, but one man has your heart._

 

Rey squeezed her eyes tight thinking about Dr. Solo. Her lust once again overrode her reason. She loved Ben.

 

Her head spun. What was she doing? She stared at the exposed beams of her attic bedroom, trying to clear her mind.

 

***

 

Mr. Ren and his company left early the next morning. He said he wanted the room tidied before he came back in the evening. Rey anxiously wanted to go back in his quarters and find one shred of criminal activity linking him to Dr. Snoke. If she went to Poe about Plutt they could hold Mr. Ren, but getting him arrested meant she had no way to find out if Dr. Snoke was masterminding Mr. Ren's crimes.

 

Rey, Rose and Paige stood at the closed door of the master suite. The sisters were stock still, not wanting to enter.

 

"Today seems like a really good day to quit," Rose said seriously.

 

"We never had to deal with this for Dr. Solo," Paige muttered, crossing her arms.

 

Rey needed to read the notebook alone. Twisting her mouth in thought, Rey huffed a breath. "I was already in there before. It isn't so bad. At least the room is empty this time."

 

Paige's lip twitched in disgust and Rose dropped her head back, looking above, as if saying why me?

 

"I don't mind cleaning up the worst of it," Rey offered.

 

"Rey we couldn't possibly-" Rose started.

 

Rey interrupted holding up a hand, "No really. I didn't grow up the same way you two did. It isn't like this is anything very shocking for me."

 

"Rey you don't need to do that. Rose and I can handle it," Paige said with resolve.

 

"How about this," Rey started. "I hate dishes duty. If you and Paige take my next three I will do the room on my own."

 

Paige opened her mouth to protest but Rose spoke first, "Sold! Good day, Rey. Best of luck in there!"

 

Rose was already pushing her sister down the hall. Paige batted her hands away.

 

"Sorry, Rey!" Paige called over her shoulder as Rose kept shoving her.

 

Rey waved and stepped into the suite. The bedroom was in disarray, but not as bad as Rey expected. The sheets were tangled and thrown. Food and drink had been left out as well as their narcotics. A faint musky scent of bodies and smoke still clung to the air.

 

Rey wasted no time going to the desk and yanking on the drawer. It rattled but did not budge. Locked. Rey couldn't even be sure the journal was still in there. Nonetheless, she jiggled the handle. Peeking into the drawer keyhole, she saw nothing but darkness.

 

Living on the streets and doing odd jobs had given her a particular skill set that came in handy at moments like these.

 

Searching the tabletop she grinned as she saw a new letter opener on the desk. This little tool was proving to be her best ally.

 

She shimmied the metal in the lock until she heard a small click. It slid open and the leather journal sat right at the very top. Rey's fingers itched at what she would find inside. She laid it open on the table. The looping letters were easier for her to decipher than in the past. Her hands trembled as she opened it to the last page, with yesterday's date.

 

_Personal account of events Mr. Kylo Ren,_

_Through Dr. Snoke's insistence, I continue the experiments to more and more drastic degrees. The latest findings conclude that I am not only immune to all illness, but also can not pass on any diseases. Even in the most intimate of involvements with others, I can not contract or spread any ailment. Dr. Snoke demands that I consort with a wider sample of people to see if the results are consistent._

 

Rey frowned deeply at the page. What was she reading? Rey turned toward the front of the notebook. Pages had been ripped out, including the ones she and Dr. Solo had used.

 

She flipped to the very first entry, hunching over to read. It took a bit longer to sound out the words, but she understood much more than she had in the past.

 

_Personal account of events by Dr. Benjamin Solo_

_Dr. Snoke and I administered the serum today with remarkable results in our lab rats. We truly are about to have a break through. With his help I believe the medications I have concocted will eradicate every malady known to mankind._

 

Rey bit her lip and she turned the page for the next log but found torn paper. The next entry was a while later and this time it was written by Mr. Ren.

 

_….I spent the better part of two days binge drinking alcohol of the highest proof. Any human would have succumb to alcohol poisoning but I have not even gotten intoxicated. My motor skills still remain unaffected…._

 

Standing straight, Rey let a long exhale out through her mouth. This was nothing Rey was expecting. Mr. Ren wasn't a physician was he? Why was he involved in this?

 

An idea dawned on Rey, one that had her holding her breath. What if Mr. Ren was a test subject for this new serum Dr. Solo had mentioned on the first page? This must be how Mr. Ren knew Dr. Snoke. It makes sense why Dr. Solo wouldn't want anything to happen to his brother. If he is arrested or leaves London, all of his research goes with him.

 

Rey pinched the bridge of her nose. If that were true, why would Mr. Ren agree to something like this? Was there money involved? Maybe Dr. Solo had allowed Mr. Ren to buy up those properties under his name in exchange for medical experiments. He had mentioned that Dr. Snoke was a silent partner in buying those businesses. Perhaps Snoke was funding his financial endeavors in exchange for the testing as well.

 

Rey stamped her foot. This notebook held no incriminating evidence for Dr. Snoke. Medical testing on a willing participant was not against the law. She paced. Something still nagged at the back of her mind. None of this explained the curious situation with Dr. Solo being locked in his lab with the key, but unable to get out. It also didn't explain why Dr. Solo seemed terrified of Snoke. There had to be more to this story. The back of her neck prickled with suspicion.

 

If Dr. Snoke is involved with Dr. Solo's work, then perhaps she would find more answers in his lab. She had to find something. Snoke could be using nontraditional means to fund the research.

 

She didn't know what she would do if she found evidence against Mr. Ren, Dr. Snoke AND Dr. Solo. He had to be just a pawn. A fly caught in their web of evil.

 

Rey placed the notebook back in the drawer and carefully nudged the key hole to try and lock it again. Locking it proved to be more time consuming because she had never needed to cover her tracks to such a degree in the past.

As soon as the desk appeared untouched, she got to work stripping the bed.

Rey would go down to the lab tonight.

 

***

 

Mr. Ren had not come back that evening.

 

It was no matter to Rey. All it meant was she had an easier time sneaking down to Dr. Solo's lab.

 

Her nightgown brushed about her ankles as she kept her steps light. Rey considered staying clothed but if she were caught fully dressed then the other person would know her night time wanderings were intentional. If she was caught she could simply say she had a distressing dream and wanted to go down to the kitchen for a glass of water.

 

Carefully and slowly Rey came down the stairs without a candle to light her way. Once she was in the basement there were not as many windows as on the other floors so the hall down to Dr. Solo's lab faded into black nothingness.

 

Rey stumbled, feeling the walls inching toward the kitchen. There were small windows set high flooding the space with a pale blue light. She found a candle resting on the counter. The sound of Rey lighting the match stick rumbled compared to the absolute silence around her.

 

The floor was cold on her feet as she made it to the end of the hall. She turned the key slowly, but there was no helping the groaning, heavy gears. It echoed, and Rey hoped everyone slept too deeply to hear it. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. Locking the door behind her, the tension in her shoulders eased.

 

Dr. Solo had rarely gone in since Mr. Ren assaulted him. A few of the bottles had been moved. Rey didn't even know what she was looking for. A written threat, more documentation of Dr. Snoke's experiments? Poe had said there were people claiming Dr. Snoke tortured his patience. Maybe there was a list of people in Dr. Solo's and Dr. Snoke's records who matched up with the victims. Or better yet maybe there was someone on the list who could testify.

 

The tall bookcase Rey had found the key in was a logical place to start. Using her candle, she browsed the spines. She went row by row and her eyes stopped on a thick volume. Unlike the others, there was no writing on the outside. She pulled it out and noticed loose pieces of paper tucked between the pages.

 

She carried it to a table and opened it. Rey gasped.

 

The book had detailed drawings and descriptions of actual patience Dr. Solo had in the past. Rey could tell even if she could read most of these words, she wouldn't know what they meant. The little pieces of paper jammed in were written in handwriting Rey had never seen before. The notes were criticisms on what Dr. Solo had written, from what she could tell. She kept turning pages until the drawings of illnesses stopped. The nature of the work changed. He began to document concerns of the mind instead of the body.

 

Poe said Dr. Snoke ran an asylum just out of town. She was getting closer to finding something.

 

Heavy gears shifted and like a frightened dear she watched as the lab door unlocked. Her mind raced. She had a split second to decide what she wanted to do. Sniffing out the candle, the room plunged into darkness. Rey swiped up the book and pressed herself up against the wall and behind the shelf. It would be much too dark in there to spot her unless her unexpected guest came close.

 

She didn't dare peek. The person who entered moved with care and a leisurely pace suggesting Dr. Solo had entered. She heard a long suffering sigh, confirming it was Master Solo. The scrape of a quill tip against paper alerted her he was writing something. His fingers thrummed on the table and his footsteps retreated. The door latched in place once again.

 

Rey waited a few minutes before coming out again. She had no fire to relight her lamp. After fumbling in the dark for much longer than she would have liked she finally found matches.

 

Eagerly checking what Dr. Solo had written, she jerked back. It was a long page of what looked like all his own handwriting but obviously a correspondence of some sort.

 

_You are too weak to have her. You can not even tell her the truth._

_I don't tell her the truth because I love her._

_Love is not lying and keeping secrets._

_I am sparing her feelings protecting her heart. You would know nothing about it._

_Rey is more than capable of handling anything you give her. Don't treat her as though she were like every other wilting flower woman that you meet in high society._

_Miss Jackson is also not like your whores and I would never treat her as such. So I respect her by staying away._

_Too bad I do not plan on having the same mindset as you. I am going to tell her everything._

_You wouldn't. She would hate you._

_Then at least she will know everything and if she ends up hating me, then she will hate you too._

_Miss Jackson could still love me and despise you. You won't be around forever._

_We'll see._

_We shall._

 

Swallowing back a knot in her throat, she knew this had to be a conversation between Dr. Solo and Mr. Ren. They were fighting over her. Had Ben admitted to his brother that he loved her? It was everything she ever dreamed and hopped for. This didn't seem real.

 

She knew the brothers were on bad terms but why would they communicate in such an odd way? They could have met, especially if Mr. Ren was his test subject, they would have to interact. Maybe she was completely wrong.

 

Rey stuffed the text back into place and left the note untouched on the table.

 

One thing Rey did know was that Dr. Solo was back home and he was hiding something from her. He seemed determined to not tell her his involvement with Snoke. Mr. Ren had no such reservations. She knew Mr. Ren wanted her. If he said he would die for her then maybe he would talk for her. If Ben wasn't going to tell her what was going on, Mr. Ren would.


	13. Ruin

The next morning Rey went down to the kitchen with Rose and Paige as she did most mornings. The girls were still throwing insults and complaining about Mr. Ren. Rey hummed her agreement and nodded. She had too much on her mind to participate.

 

Since Dr. Solo had come back last night he would want his usual breakfast. Rey felt comforted by the routine.

 

The sizzle of eggs frying, surprised Rey. Maz was bent over the stove. Finn and Mr. Mitaka ate at the table.

 

"Maz?" Rey asked. "Dr. Solo wanted fried egg this morning instead of boiled?"

 

Everyone gave Rey their attention. They narrowed their eyes observing her with wary uncertainty.

 

"Dr. Solo isn't here," Finn said as if she were daft.

 

"Didn't he-? I thought-. He didn't come in last night?" Rey asked. Surely they just didn't check his bedroom this morning. He had gotten in too late. They were all asleep. Of course they would look at her like that. "I thought I had heard him come home."

 

Finn rolled his eyes. "You must have been dreaming. It was Mr. Ren who came back late."

 

Rey frowned. It was Dr. Solo in the lab last night not Mr. Ren. Did Dr. Solo come in and then leave again? "Are you sure Dr. Solo isn't also in his room?"

 

Finn worried his bottom lip. "Dr. Solo's room is empty and Mr. Ren barked at me that he wanted fried eggs for breakfast in bed. Again. It's as though he was completely unaware we have a dining room."

 

Rey felt disoriented. She had hardly slept last night so she would have known if people were coming in and out of the house. Wouldn't she?

 

"Are you alright, Rey?" Finn asked.

 

Rey forced a smile, "Perfectly fine. You are right. I must have been dreaming."

 

"Right," Finn said sceptical. "On to the day's chores. Paige, Rose you are on laundry duty. Rey-"

 

The call bell rang frantically in the kitchen cutting Finn off.

 

"He can't give us five minutes to cook his damn food!" Finn slammed his fist on the table and the room took in a sharp breath. "My apologies. Please forgive my swearing."

 

"I can bring it up," Rey said. Her stomach churned.

 

Finn was still giving her a wary expression. "Are you sure Rey? He didn't ask for you this time and you should stay away from the brute."

 

"It's alright, Finn, you have had enough of him for one morning and I wouldn't expose Rose and Paige to his temper."

 

Finn nodded and the room still was abnormally still with surprise.

 

Rey prepared the tray for Mr. Ren and Maz dropped the eggs and bread on the plate.

 

"Good luck deary," Maz said with her eyes magnified behind her lenses. She gave Rey a look that made her feel Maz was peering into her soul.

 

***

 

This was the first time Rey couldn't wait to see Mr. Ren. She sped through the house to his chambers.

 

She rapped on the door.

 

"Enter," Mr. Ren called.

 

Rey stepped in and then took a step back. Mr. Ren managed to find a new level of undress. Lounging in bed, he was completely bare except for his under pants which were untied at the top, so she could easily see the dark trail of curls below his belly button.

 

"Miss. Jackson?" Mr. Ren questioned. "I had planned on telling Mr. Storm I wanted you to serve me, but fortune must be smiling on me. You are here."

 

"Do you not own any decent sleep clothes, Mr. Ren?" Rey criticized. "I am sure you could afford it."

 

The chuckle from Mr. Ren surprised her. "But then I would not get to see the lovely blush on your cheeks or hear your sharp tongue." His full lips smirked. "Do tell me Miss. Jackson, what has you coming to my bedroom so willingly when you seem to hold me in such contempt?"

 

Mr. Ren beconed Rey forward with his two fingers make a _come here_ motion.

 

Dropping the tray in front of Mr. Ren, he hunched over the plate and shoveled the food in his face.

 

"I want to ask you about Dr. Snoke." Rey said right to the point.

 

Mr. Ren choked on his eggs. He turned to her with a furious scowl.

 

"I will be honest with you Mr. Ren. I know Dr. Solo is colleagues with Dr. Snoke somehow. I know you and Dr. Snoke are involved in questionable businesses. I believe him working with Dr. Snoke is dangerous. He has been very ill and acting strange and he seems terrified if I even bring his name up. I think you and Dr. Snoke may be blackmailing him somehow or bribing him, because he refuses to disassociate with you two." Rey stood her ground, glaring at Mr. Ren, whose face twisted in chagrin. "I want to know why. Dr. Solo is a humble physician and I am here to demand you tell me the truth. What have you two been doing to him? If you care at all for your brother than don't drag him into your schemes. "

 

Mr. Ren swiped away his tray so it flew across the room crashing onto the floor. He got up from the bed, his eyes filled with ire.

 

"Is that the reason you have been going to Poe Dameron? Batting your eyes at the policeman to help your poor defenceless Dr. Solo against Snoke and his scoundrel brother? Who are you to defend him? I find it rather pathetic he is so much of a coward he must hide behind a woman's skirt!"

 

Rey smacked Mr. Ren hard across his face. The sound of her hit echoed in the room. He grabbed her wrists as a red hand print blossomed on his skin.

 

"The situation my dear brother finds himself in is a direct effect of his own actions. He has no one to blame but himself for any hardships."

 

"As if I were to believe you and Dr. Snoke did not have a hand in it!" Rey argued. Getting her face closer to his.

 

"Did you ever think perhaps I am the one who is caught in the middle of Dr. Solo and Dr. Snoke? Hm? It sickens me how little you really know about Ben Solo. He does not deserve your devotion. He has not even been honest with you from the beginning."

 

"Then you tell me. You tell me the truth and prove me wrong," Rey challenged. "You say Dr. Solo is not being honest with me. Prove you can be. If he is a liar then you tell me the truth. If he is not in danger than I will leave well enough alone."

 

Mr. Ren's nostrils flared. "I never said he wasn't in danger. I said the situation he finds himself in is because of his own actions."

 

The fight in Rey subsided as she saw Mr. Ren's resolve slip. If he wasn't going to tell her everything at least she knew he would tell her enough to get answers.

 

"As I told Iyou once before, I don't want to lie to you." Mr. Ren's sincerity was genuine. Rey could tell. "But if I am going to give you information, then how much is it worth to you? I won't lie to you but I could hold my tongue. If I give you answers then I want something in return."

 

Rey dreaded his next words. She knew where this was going. Rey licked her lips as his eyes fell to her mouth, "What did you want?"

 

"Come and join me on the bed for starters," Mr. Ren invited.

 

Rey's temperature shot up and her brow scrunched, "I am not sleeping with you Mr. Ren!"

 

"I said no such thing," Mr Ren purred. "All I ask is that we sit beside one another as familiar friends."

 

"We are anything but, Mr. Ren," Rey said with disgust.

 

"All the same Miss. Jackson, please sit beside me." Mr. Ren settled on the edge of the bed and gestured toward the spot next to him.

 

Rey was about to damn him to the pits of hell and storm out but after some thought his request did not seem as unreasonable as she expected. She hesitantly sat beside him but left a great deal of space between them. He was practically nude and it was broad daylight. She stuck her nose in the air. At this Mr. Ren seemed amused.

 

"How well do you know my brother?" Mr. Ren asked.

 

"Well enough I suppose," Rey answered with a defensive tone.

 

Mr. Ren looked pleased with her answer. "Where you aware Dr. Solo was very ill as a child?"

 

Rey's stunned expression was answer enough for Dr. Ren. He continued, smug.

 

"When he was born he was very weak. No doctors could diagnose what ailed him. All they knew was he was sickly, thin and pale. No amount of fresh air and hearty food could strengthen him. Our father was very disappointed in having a son so frail. Our parents blamed one another. They spent a small fortune on trying to find the right doctors."

 

Mr. Ren stopped and Rey frowned, annoyed he had paused.

 

"I would like to go on, but I find the sight of your hair tied back so tightly, distracting. Loosen it."

 

Rey pouted. She knew what he was doing. But if she wanted her answers she would have to play along for now. Her hands reached back and unfastened her hair so it fell around her shoulders. Mr. Ren looked pleased and Rey wanted to knock his block off.

 

"Our parents feared he suffered from the same malady that ultimately killed our grandfather. Our uncle, Uncle Luke, knowing about his father's strange affliction, had become a physician and had been studying for many years in the medical field. Our parents who were at their wits end entrusted Ben to our Uncle Luke in hopes he had an answer or special treatment." Mr. Ren stopped again.

 

Rey's sour expression seemed to delight Mr. Ren. "The high collar on your dress doesn't seem comfortable. This will be a long story."

 

"It will be much longer with you stopping all the time," Rey grit.

 

Mr. Ren said nothing only watched her with expectant eyes.

 

With shaking fingers she unbuttoned the first two. Mr. Ren's pupils blew out, keeping his wolf-like gaze on her neck. He stayed silent.

 

Rey huffed and unbuttoned two more.

 

Mr. Ren continued, but Rey noticed he seemed out of breath as he spoke.

 

"Ben was furious. He felt like our parents were throwing him aside because they didn't want to deal with him anymore. He was sent to live with Uncle Luke. Uncle Luke would give my brother the most age old medicines. Teas from some obscure tribe in the mountains, plant leaves to put on his head at night, hanging upside down for hours to increase better blood circultion, insisting one of them would eventually work. He grew bitter against our parents. He wasn't improving. When he came of age he rejected our family inheritance, left the states and took residence here in our grandfather's house. He began to study medicine hoping to find answers. He worked with Uncle Luke for a little while, who had a small practice here in London. The breaking point between my brother and Uncle Luke was when Ben found out the medications our uncle had been giving Ben were very poisonous and actually keeping him ill. Our uncle claims he was unaware."

 

Rey gasped.

 

Mr. Ren stopped, to run his hungry gaze on the edge of her jaw, the slope of her neck.

 

"Take off your stockings," Mr Ren ordered. 

 

"No," Rey says fuming and standing. "You haven't even told me anything of what this has to do with Dr. Snoke and how you are in the middle of everything. Or why this is Dr. Solo's fault for being involved with Dr. Snoke."

 

"If you remove your stockings then I will tell you more." He swallowed as though he is salivating right before a delicious meal. "I won't touch you. I promise. I just want to see more of you."

 

Rey needed him to continue. He promised he wouldn't touch her. Rey bent over to unlace her shoes, but kept her eyes on Mr. Ren just in case he tried something untoward. She slipped off each one. The way he stared was obscene. Had he not seen women without a stitch on them, yet he panted with anticipation?

 

To get under the layers of her dress, Rey had no choice put to place her foot on the edge of the bed to pull her skirt back as she rolled down her hosiery. At the small peek of her exposed leg, Mr. Ren's breathing hitched.

 

Rey's heart thud and her core heated with the intensity of his lust.

 

As she did the same routine with her other leg, she noticed Mr. Ren fisting his bedsheets and his manhood beginning to strain against the confines of his underpants. Rey felt dizzy and on the verge of swooning at the indecent sight. She forced her eyes to look away from his lap.

 

Though her knees were weak she didn't trust herself to sit back on the bed next to Mr. Ren so she stood tall. The soles of her feet could feel every fiber of the carpet under her.

 

With her dress back down all the way to her ankles, Mr. Ren could see nothing, but they both knew she had less clothing on than before and it made the air zing.

 

"Ben defamed Uncle Luke, publicly exposing his incompetence."

 

Rey's eyes became wide. She could not imagine her mild soft spoken Dr. Solo taking such action.

 

"Ben became obsessed with finding a cure to all illnesses after that. As he aged his health began to decline rapidly. That's when he met Dr. Snoke. Dr Snoke let him know there was not only physical ailments but mental ones as well. He convinced my brother to work together. If Ben was going to find a cure to all illnesses then he would have to find a cure to both."

 

Mr. Ren stood from the bed and knelt in front of Rey. On his knees his head reached her waist and Rey cautiously stepped back not knowing what he would ask next. He looked deeply into her eyes. "Please Rey. Let me touch you."

 

At his words her body begged to know the feel of his hands. But her mind was stronger than her body. "If I say no," Rey asked. "Will you tell me no more?"

 

"Even if you say no, I don't think I have the power to deny you anything. I am begging because only you can end my suffering. This longing is ripping me apart. Please I need a reprieve." His voice sounded weak and desperate.

 

Rey's head spun at how quickly the tables had turned. The power balance shifted. He was now begging her for something he wanted. He stared like she was the sun and we was a man who had been kept in the pits of darkness for hundreds of years.

 

"Continue and I will consider it," Rey answered feeling high on the power she had over him. She felt like a queen and her loyal subject dropped at her feet.

 

"Dr. Solo knew Dr. Snoke's reputation. He heard the rumors but he was so driven he ignored it all. Dr. Solo turned a blind eye to all of Dr. Snoke's questionable methods. Ben even participated in his inhumane studies, all the while Dr. Snoke convincing him it was for the greater good. A few would suffer to save the world."

 

Rey shook her head, "I don't believe Dr. Solo would do that. If he was upset at Dr. Skywalker and saw what he was doing was wrong why would he not expose Dr. Snoke as well for his transgressions?"

 

Mr. Ren's lip curled. "Because Ben is not as noble as you believe him to be. Dr. Snoke finally had been giving him medicine which made him stronger. His health was improving. Leaving Dr Snoke and exposing him meant Dr. Solo would become ill again. Dr. Solo's research also had come much further along than anything he had collaborated with any other doctors. As time passed however the things Dr. Snoke asked of Ben became more and more disturbing."

 

Rey chewed her bottom lip. Her mind raced with the new information. What could Dr. Snoke be asking him to do? Rey remebered about Poe saying that the people at the asylum claimed torturous medical experiments. Rey shuddered to think Dr. Solo participated in it.  This was not what she was expecting. Did she not know Dr. Solo at all?

 

She almost forgot that Mr. Ren was sitting in front of her waiting. Mr. Ren's eyes beseeched permission for him to move. She swallowed before nodding. 

 

He rested his forehead on her abdomen as he found the hem of her dress. He slid up her ankles to her calves with a delightful ticklish sensation. Her nipples hardened against her corset making her mind go blank with pleasure. Suddenly nothing else mattered but the desires of her flesh. He moved further up to her thighs and Rey threw her head back with a moan as he awakened an animalistic need for more. He inched the tips of his fingers higher and that's when the alarm bells rang in her head and she stilled his hands with her own.

 

His chest heaved, expanding and contracting too fast. 

 

"How did you get involved?" Rey asked sounding too high pitched.

 

Mr. Ren's eyes became sad. "If I answer that will you let me kiss you?"

 

Rey found herself mentally reeling. No man had ever kissed her. She had wanted to save her first kiss for someone special, like Dr. Solo.Was it betrayal to allow Mr. Ren to kiss her, when  her heart still belonged to Dr. Solo?

 

 

Mr. Ren had already taken from her body much more than any other man. She was unsure if she wanted to do this too. Staring into his eyes she detected raw want and vulnerability which weakened her. Perhaps she did not love Mr. Ren but he loved her in the only way he knew how.

 

A little voice in the back of her mind told her no one had to ever know. It wasn't as if Dr. Solo wasn't keeping secrets of his own. One kiss would not condemn her to Hades. Rey weighed her options.

 

The silence engulfed them, heavy and tense. Rey licked her lips and screwed her eyes up tight as she nodded, as if regretting it already.

 

His sharp intake of breath let her know he was just as surprised as herself with her answer. His gaze turned savage.

 

"I owe my very existence to Dr. Solo. If it were not for him I would have nothing." He sounded bitter and resentful.

 

Rey's eyes narrowed. She found it very hard to believe.

 

"If you have suspicions about my honestly in his matter that is definitely something we both agree on and he would confirm." Mr. Ren's tone is flat.

 

After he answered, his mouth parted slightly. His dark eyes turn molten. His face was awestruck as he savored the planes of her face. He seemed incapable of blinking as if unwilling to miss a second of drinking her in.

 

His hands brushed down her legs back out from under her dress. Rey shivered as he ignited her hypersensitive skin. He stood before her and Rey noticed just how much bigger Mr. Ren was compared to herself. Not just taller, but broader. His arms and legs were thick with muscles. He stood before her still with his underpants undone. She looked at the cream of his exposed skin and noticed for the first time that though Mr. Ren had scars, he did not have constellations of beauty marks the way Dr. Solo had.

 

His cheeks flushed and his eyes swam. His hair was carelessly tousled. He was breathtaking and her heart felt like it would burst.

 

Rey could tell he was savoring this moment, prolonging it as much as possible. He wanted to keep her on a knife's edge, held captive with anticipation and need.

 

His thumb brushed her lips. His other hand weaved through her loose hair and a whisper of a sigh pierced the air. She was not sure if it was from him or herself, too far absorbed in the smallest sensations.

 

Mr. Ren leaned in closer, tipping her head back and Rey felt her eyes close. She could feel the warmth of his breath, a steady push and pull.

 

And then he descended as if he couldn't wait another second longer.

 

At the first contact of the plush softness of his mouth Rey realized this was a mistake. Because she knew this would be her ruin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't be upset! Next chapter will pick up right where we left off!


	14. A Foolish Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI I am speeding this story up. I wanted to really drag it out, but I am finding I don't have the time to spare right now. I love writing this but I have to do some adulting. I hate to leave stories unfinished or to go months without updating. (Unfinished stories hurt my soul.) 
> 
> As readers, you have used your precious time and perhaps even invested emotional energy into this story and I won't leave you hanging. 
> 
> There will be about 3 more chapters and that will be it for the story. Thank you so much for reading! For those that left kudos and comments you have a special place in my little heart.... May the force be with you!

Rey must have been asleep her whole life until this moment. That was the only way to describe it. Everything in her world had been drab and listless, and she had not known it until now. There was no other way to describe the exhilaration.

She could feel her heart thundering in her chest and her heated blood rushing in her ears. 

Her senses were so sharp she felt every caress of his tongue, every movement of his lips. He tasted like nectar from a ripened fruit and she moaned at the delicacy. They moved together. 

Her breath stuttered as Mr. Ren's chest pressed against her open collar, skin on skin. She wanted to rip the dress from her body to feel more. Instead she carded her fingers through feather-soft, ebony hair. 

He made a pleased hum in the back of his throat and the sound was leaving her a quivering mess. Her knees grew so weak Rey had to loop her other arm around his neck. 

If she did not know any better, Rey would say she was floating some place far above the house lost to any reality. 

A large hand rubbed her back in a caring coxing way. Had it been rough or demanding, Rey would have pulled away immediately. But it wasn't so she didn't. He kissed her like this was the last one he would ever have and needed it prolonged, needed to savor each second. 

Some very distant part of her stubbornly protested. The logical part of her brain that was still functioning told her Finn would be up any minute to check on her. 

But she couldn't stop her hands from roaming, exploring, feeling. His skin was more pleasing to touch than fine satin, than expensive silks. 

Rey had not realized Mr. Ren had been walking her back toward the door. She vaguely noticed his hand reach behind her and she heard the latch click. 

She should have been offended, angered at his presumptuousness. Instead she was excited. Any apprehension she had melted as quickly as her britches. One hand moved away from the nape of his neck to slide down his taut stomach. 

His mouth left hers to trail searing kisses on her jaw and down her neck. He pulled the top of her dress aside to nibble at the delicate flesh of her shoulder. Rey threw her head back, indulging in the new sensations. She tried to catch her breath. She was lightheaded and burning up. 

A loud knock shook the door pressed against Rey's back. She snapped to attention as if startled awake from a dream. Mr. Ren pulled away.

"Mr. Ren!" Finn shouted. He jiggled the handle but it did not yield. 

They were frozen even holding their breath. 

"Mr. Ren! You must be in there if the door is locked," Finn's voice shook with anger. "Ms. Jackson should have come down by now! I will break down this door if you don't answer me!"

Rey could only look deep in his eyes as she realized what she had actually done. He had broken her. His lips were slightly swollen and pink from the passion of their kisses. Finn couldn't see her in this compromising situation. She was starting to panic. 

Mr. Ren pinned her in place with only a look.

"Mr. Storm? Is that you?" Mr. Ren asked from behind the door.

"Yes, sir!" Finn said as if Mr. Ren should know exactly who it was.

"My apologies. I had fallen asleep. Miss. Jackson give me my breakfast but rushed back out."

"She has not returned back to the kitchen!" Finn accused as he didn't believe a single word. 

Mr. Ren took his index finger and ran it down the side of Rey's face, adoringly. It made her toes curl. 

"I am not Miss Jackson's keeper. However I do believe she mentioned something about Detective Dameron." Mr. Ren's face twisted as if saying his name left a bitter taste in his mouth. "She seemed quite anxious to leave. You may pick up the dishes after I leave for the day."

Finn humphed behind the door. His pounding footsteps dulled the father away he went. 

"Where were we?" Mr. Ren purred as he leaned back down slowly.

Rey clapped a hand over his mouth, and he looked genuinely surprised. She couldn't let those sinful lips near her again. 

"You said ONE kiss, Mr. Ren. I may be a poor maid but even I can count," Rey said pushing him back. "You have taken too many liberties." 

Mr. Ren didn't seem too upset. He gave her a devilish grin as he answered, "Your tongue is just as cutting as it is sweet, Miss. Jackson." 

"One would think that someone wise would stay away from sharp things then," Rey replied annoyed. 

Mr. Ren laughed without humor. "I am neither wise nor afraid of dangerous things Miss Jackson." He backed away before going toward his dresser and pulling out clothes. 

"Do you consider me dangerous, Mr. Ren?" Rey asked as if mocking him. She straightened her dress and began to tie her hair back again. 

"You are the only thing that could destroy me, Miss. Jackson. So yes. I would say you are the most detrimental to me. I should stay away, but being intelligent is not my forte.I do however have other redeeming talents." He grinned at her from over his shoulder. 

Rey watched the muscles of his back shift and her mouth watered. She cleared her throat as she began to feel very hot. He turned away slipping on his britches. At least he was putting clothes on instead of taking them off. It was helping her state of mind. She had him talking so she continued. "You said that Dr. Snoke was keeping Dr. Solo healthy and helping his research and that's why Dr. Solo stays with him. Doesn't Dr. Solo have a medicine of some kind that cures everything?" 

Mr. Ren slams his dresser drawer shut. "How do you know about that?" He demands. 

"I know more than you think I do. I know you have taken the medicine and you are immune to all illness or passing it on-"

"Have you been reading our journal?" Mr. Ren cut off appearing both angry and astounded. 

"I bet you thought I could not read," Rey said lifting her chin. "If you can take it and be healthy, why can't Dr. Solo? Dr. Snoke wouldn't have a hold on him." 

Mr. Ren aggressively buttoned his dress shirt as he answered, "You should know nothing about it. Besides it isn't just about his health anymore. Dr. Snoke has involved him in horrible practices, telling Ben it was all for a greater cause. Dr. Snoke has too much blackmail on Ben. If Dr. Snoke goes down, then so does my brother." 

"What kind of horrible practices?" Rey needled. A creeping sensation gave her goosebumps.

"If I told you, you would hate him. And as much as I would love to ruin your perfect image of my brother, I wouldn't be able to stand breaking your heart." Mr. Ren's eyes dropped and his shoulders slumped. Rey had never seen him so tragic. 

"Is there no way he can be helped?" Rey pleaded. 

"Not unless you can find a way to permanently silence Dr. Snoke." Mr. Ren went to his closet and put on his black vest and overcoat.

"And where are you headed? Back to Dr. Snoke as well, even while knowing he is vile?" Rey shook.

"I am." Mr Ren admitted. "I am a monster, Rey. So I shall do what monsters do and accept all my deserved consequences." 

Rey could hear the self loathing in his voice. Mr. Ren finished dressing quickly and unlocked the door and strode out leaving her dumbfounded and bereft. 

***

What Rey was doing was very very foolish, but she knew she had to get more information on Dr. Snoke to give to Poe. She hid behind the corner of buildings and kept a safe distance as she followed Mr. Ren. 

The day was gloomy as usual. Mr. Ren rushed through the streets like a man with a purpose and the people parted hurriedly to get out of his way. There was no way she would lose him in the crowd. She knew where he was headed anyway, to the seedy part of London. He turned down a few dark allies until they came to where the streets were broken and the sidewalks dirtied. The buildings got rundown. Some were obviously abandoned with windows and doors boarded up. 

Mr. Ren stopped at a building with a sign that said it was a hotel. Rey felt her skin itch just looking at it. The front door swung open and a tall leggy blond stood at the door. Rey recognized her as the same woman that had come to Dr. Solo's house weeks ago. Mr. Ren took his top hat in his hands and entered. 

Rey bit her lip. There was no telling how long he will stay in there. She couldn't wait to come back. These brothels had something to do with Dr. Snoke as well. He might have be in there right now. Pushing her shoulders back, Rey marched over to the door. Before she could change her mind she held onto the knocker of the door and clacked it loudly. 

Within a few seconds the same blond woman opened. She gave a condescending smile and leaned against the doorframe blocking her way. She crossed her arms in front of her body.  
"Hello, lovely. Are you lost?"

"No," Rey said, her mouth going dry. 

"We have a very specific clientele." The statuesque woman looked her up and down slowly. "You don't seem to be our usual customer." 

"I'm not here as a customer. I was wondering if you were hiring." Rey winced at how weak her voice sounded. 

The prostitute straightened up, her face surprised. 

"Nothing on a permanent basis. I just have to make some extra money," Rey fabricated. "This is my first time doing anything like this so I have some questions."

"I see," she replied. "Follow me to my office."

She moved aside and beckoned Rey in, shutting the door soundly behind her. 

The lobby had plush chairs and business men sitting with pipes and women pawing and giggling at them. The room had heavy drapes and the room was decorated in deep scarlets, dark woods and gold accents. It still managed to appear run down and worn. It smelled musty and the air was hot. Rey felt a prickle of discomfort as she scurried behind her hostess. There was no sign of Mr. Ren. 

They came to a small office with a desk and two chairs. 

 

"The name is Phasma," She stated with a drawl. 

"Kira," Rey lied. She didn't bother sitting as Phasma sat down. 

"Well, if you are interested in work I suppose you could work here. You would only work here. No going out on your own. It is safer if you conduct business here. And we get a percentage of what you earn. Clients pay me and I give you your cut at the end of the night. I am a working girl myself so I am honest with your profits."

"How many clients would I have in a night?" Rey asked.

"It depends on what men pick you." Phasma's eyes lingered on Rey. "To be honest I don't think you will do too well here. The men like women with more meat on their bones, large breasts."

Rey ducked her head. She had not considered actually doing this as a profession but hearing Phasma say such unflattering things stung. 

"If you really are hard up for money," Phasma said carefully. "We have other options."

Rey perked up. 

"I know someone who is a doctor and he is looking for volunteers for medical studies."

"I could do that!" Rey said enthusiastically. 

Phasma laughed, a wicked thing. "No dear. You could volunteer yourself but you don't fit the criteria. He needs men. Men who are already suffering from illnesses."

Rey's confused expression was enough to get her to continue. 

"You come and work here. If a man picks you to spend the evening with, and you see that he fits the profile of what we are looking for, you just give him a little more to drink. Once he passes out, we have… someone... escort him out of the brothel. We pay you three times as much for your help and to keep your mouth shut." Phasma's voice gets dangerously low, threatening. 

Rey's palms get sweaty, "I may be willing to do that."

"Excellent," Phasma smiled and leaned back in her chair. "When would you like to start?" 

"Tonight. I want to start as soon as possible," Rey shook with nerves but was surprised to hear her voice was steady. 

"Splendid. After 11pm be back here. Wear something that shows a bit more skin. I will walk you out." Phasma glided across the room and opened the door for her to leave. 

Rey's heart thumped in her chest. Ready to come back that night, she took deep breaths. She would get her first client and make sure he got blackout drunk before he even laid a hand on her. 

***

Once Rey got back to Dr. Solo's house she explained to a very frantic Finn that she had in fact left after giving Mr. Ren his breakfast and she was fine. Guilt ate at her for only giving a half truth to her concerned friend. 

She went about the day with her heart in her throat, anticipating her excursion. She jumped at every sound. Paige and Rose gave her curious glances. 

Finally it was late and Rey snuck out of the house confident she was the only one not following the rule to stay in bed. She didn't have anything revealing. So she opened the neck of her dress and tucked in the corners to display her meager cleavage. She took down her hair and pinched her cheeks so they had the appearance of rouge. 

She knocked on the door and Phasma greeted her. 

"Well hello, Kira," Phasma gave her a real smile. "I am surprised that you actually came." 

"Desperate times," Rey said faking bravado. 

"Please come. We actually have a client who just came in and wanted to see the merchandise." 

Rey came into the large open parlor where the plush chairs were now empty except for one, where a very fat man perched. He reaked even from where Rey was standing. His eyes were lecherous. He had a large slimy tongue that licked his lips as she entered the room. Her stomach rolled. 

"Mr. Hutt. Please let me introduce you to our newest girl, Kira," Phasma waved over Rey as she stood beside the other women lined up in front of Mr. Hutt. 

She was so repulsed by the man she almost missed Mr. Ren standing in the corner, looking murderous. His eyes burned into her and she saw his hands curl into fists. He vibrated with rage as his face turned puce. 

"I quite like the idea of breaking in the new girl, even if she isn't much in the curves department," his rumbling, grating voice replied. He rubbed his belly, covered in a stained button up shirt. 

Rey held back a gag. 

"I do like that she is small though. Easier to bend to my will," he chuckled. 

In two large steps Mr. Ren was in front of Mr. Hutt. He pulled back his elbow and swing a fist clear across Mr. Hutt's face. The man fell over and dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Blood spilled from his nose and mouth and the women gasped looking away. Some fled in terror at Mr. Ren's violent display.

He glared back at Rey as if this was all her fault. 

"Mr. Ren!" Phasma shouted her hands on her hips. "You can't keep pummeling every man who comes in here no matter how vile! I have a business to run. I have to make a profit!" 

Mr. Ren's face screwed up as he turned back to Phasma. "You will make a profit alright! We can just take this man and you and your girls will get paid." 

Phasma pouted. An expression that should have been petulant was intimidating on her. She had forgotten Rey was there listening to every word. "You won't have anymore subjects to take if they stop visiting our establishments because men are getting beaten up or disappearing constantly. You said it would only be once in a while. I feel like you either take away every man who comes in here or scare them off! How long do you think it will be for the authorities to make the connection to the bodies found and this brothel?"

Rey gasped putting a hand to her mouth. Mr. Ren was responsible for the murders in London, along with Dr. Snoke. And dare she think it, Dr. Solo too? Her knees felt weak and she nearly collapsed on the floor. It couldn't be. Dr. Solo must not know that these men were taken against their will. Surely he didn't know their fate after they left. She would not believe it.

"Kira!" Mr. Ren barked. 

And Rey jolted at the name she had given herself. She stared at the fire and brimstone in Mr. Ren's midnight obs. She backed away slowly.

"I think I will be your first customer," Mr. Ren declared. Mr. Ren turns to Phasma. He digs down deep in his pocket and pulls out crumpled notes and throws them at Phasma. "I will be purchasing her for the rest of the night. That should more than cover her cost!"

Phasma looked thunderstruck. She stood blinking her vivid blue eyes. 

Mr. Ren grabbed Rey's arm and all but dragged her upstairs. He yanked open the door to the first room and pulled her inside. He locked it and stood breathing heavily through his nose. "You should not be here!"

"You have no right to tell me where I should and shouldn't be! You have been responsible for the London murders this whole time! Did you kill them to keep them quiet after their medical experiments at the hands of Dr. Snoke?"

Mr. Ren was livid, looking more furious by the minute. "Stay away from Dr. Snoke! Don't even mention his name." 

"Oh! Is that an admission that your business here is indeed linked with him and his research and not some other physician?"

"Was it not you that said even you, a simple maid can count? I have no doubt you can put two and two together. And don't insult me by thinking I wouldn't understand what you are trying to do." Mr. Ren bowed down and got very close to Rey's face. "It doesn't matter. Now that you know, I will be telling Dr. Snoke we will have to find a new source for subjects. I am locking you in here the rest of the night. You will stay here safe and sound and not put your nose where it does not belong!" 

Before Rey could fight, Mr. Ren retreated locking her in the room. Rey pounded and yelled, but the entry would not yield. She screamed and thudded some more. 

She heard one of the women say out in the hall "She must be really earning her payment." 

Rey felt humiliated. She could escape and go to Poe right now and tell him that men were disappearing from this brothel to be taken to Dr. Snoke but Dr. Solo had not been around for days. Perhaps he was still with Dr. Snoke. She couldn't lead the police to Dr. Snoke without warning Ben, and make sure he was far away when the police found Dr. Snoke red handed. Her kind-hearted employer could not know the full truth of Dr. Snoke.

She ran to the window. She was an entire floor up and the opening was narrow, but she was certain she could escape. Taking the bedsheets she tied them end to end. Securing it to the bedpost, she was about to climb out the window when the thick fabric of her dress got stuck in the frame. It had too many layers. She couldn't make it through. She discarded her petticoats and her stockings and wedged herself through. Rey was able to shimmy out. Dangling from the end of the sheet, she made a small drop down into the alley. After a small stumble, Rey righted herself. The clopping of horses hooves and the spinning creak of carriage wheels met her ears. 

Squinting in the dark Rey spotted the massive black carriage Mr. Ren arrived in the very first day he came to the mansion. Men dressed in all white carried the unmistakable girth of Mr. Hutt. They threw him in and Mr. Ren followed after. 

Acting before she had time to think, Rey ran after the carriage. It began to pull away and Rey sprinted faster. She reached out her hand and held onto one of the back bars. She pulled herself up onto the back bench usually reserved for carrying luggage. It was far from safe, but she was well hidden from the passengers and she was able to follow them to where they were going, most likely to Dr. Snoke's mansion.


	15. The Asylum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very short chapter. I wanted to get his out so that way you all could know that I have not forgotten about you. If I didn't stop it here than the chapter would have been WAY too long. Next update should be sooner than the last have. 😄

Rey's backside had gone numb a while ago. She finally understood why Dr. Solo and Mr. Ren would be gone for days. Just to get to Dr. Snoke's mansion took hours. Rey sat in the pitch black and in the cold. She shivered as she had less clothes covering her since she discarded her underskirts and stockings. Her feet were bare in her shoes and uncomfortable. She bumped along holding on for dear life to anything her hands could hold on to. Her arms and hands burned with the effort to stay on. Finally she felt the carriage slow. 

 

Peeking over the side she saw them approach a large building. In the dark it was hard to see. She squinted at thick black metal gates encasing the multi level building. The moonlight shiend on a square and plain building with small windows. It didn't look like a home. It looked like a prison. It was then that Rey realized that they weren't going to Dr. Snoke's mansion. They were going right to the asylum. 

 

Rey felt dizzy with horror. She swallowed the bile rising in the back of her throat. She was willingly entering a madhouse. Dr. Snoke could declare her insane and keep her. Would Dr. Solo or Mr. Ren vouch for her sanity if he made false claims or would they be loyal to Dr. Snoke to a fault?

 

Thick iron gates opened as the carriage went through. In the darkness Rey made herself as small as possible. Clothed her coal dress, against the black paint, she blended in. 

 

Once they were at the large metal doors of the asylum, more men and women dressed in white exited the building. The front was not illuminated. Lanterns were carried by a few to light the way.

 

Rey assumed they wanted it as dark as possible to keep what they were doing a secret. She watched from her perch, silent and huddled. It took most of them to get Mr. Hutt out on a gurney and to roll it in. 

 

Rey watched as they worked like ants. Mr. Ren emerged from the coach and followed behind them, leisurely. 

 

Rey felt hands grab around her waist and she shrieked in surprise. A large man dressed in white chuckled. "W-w-what have we got here? F-f-finally Ren agreed to get us a f-f-female subject?" The man had teeth rotting from his mouth and his skin was clammy. He held firm as she thrashed. 

 

"D.J.! Let her go!" Mr. Ren boomed separating him from her. 

 

Rey clung to Mr. Ren's lapel, wanting to get as far from the man as possible. 

 

D.J. frowned and his lip quivered. "S-s-she is either a subject or a s-s-spy. A-a-and you know what S-s-snoke does with s-s-spies." 

 

"She is my guest," Mr. Ren spat. 

 

D.J. looked at him with mischief and said, "M-m-maybe." He had a glint in his eye suggesting that Dr. Snoke wouldn't see her as a guest at all and would have another use for her. 

 

With D.J.'s watchful eyes she had no choice but to go in with Mr. Ren. Rey could feel the agitation and stress radiating from Mr. Ren. 

 

The asylum was large and everything was white. The entry opened into a massive hall. When she looked up, far above her was an enormous sky light. There were at least 5 floors to the asylum each floor had high ceilings and a landing were each floor could look over the railings and see all the way to the ground floor. Rey wondered why an asylum would have such a large opening where one could tip over or jump. Their feet echoed in the space. It was dark except for the few candles that lit the way. The staff had larger kerosene lamps. Instead of going up, they descended a set of wide stairs. 

 

"I told you to stay put," he seethed under his breath. "You shouldn't be here." 

 

"If Dr. Snoke is hurting people and blackmailing Dr. Solo, then this is where I need to be," Rey insisted. 

 

"And who are you, Rey, to save these people? You're nobody. You have no part in this story. You shouldn't even be here," Mr. Ren growled, but Rey could see he was being cruel to get her to leave. He was just trying to push her away. To get her to not care. "When we get in there, don't say a word. I will do all the talking." 

 

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, it was worlds different from the building above ground. There were lanterns casting a red light on the walls of the wide open space, but it somehow felt stuffy. Everything else was in whites and blacks. Tables, blackboards, test tubes and coils stood in rows that were abnormally organized. 

 

Someone locked the heavy doors that shut behind them. Four orderlies flanked Rey and Kylo. Only D.J. was rolling Mr. Hutt. 

 

Standing behind a narrow table was a thin stretched out man. His frame was unnerving, long, abnormally thin and misshapen in a way. One shoulder sloped down more than the other and clutched in his hand was an expensive silver cane. As Rey got a better look, she wanted to cringe in revulsion. 

 

He was very old and bald with wisps of white hair combed over his head. His face was gaunt and a nasty scar tore the side of his cheek so badly his head appeared uneven. His skin was pale and gray. Liver spots speckled his hands. A pit formed in her stomach at the thought of Dr. Snoke being her doctor, having to see his gruesome face everyday. 

 

At the sight of Kylo Ren he gave a smile that looked more like a twist of his mouth. His teeth were yellowed and uneven. "Ah, Ren. More subjects I see?" 

 

"Only one," Mr. Ren's face hardened. "The girl is the one who helped me lure him in. I think she would be a great asset to us and what we are doing." 

 

Dr. Snoke hummed. "I see. Maybe we should see what Dr. Solo has to say about it, hm?" 

 

The orderlies wheeled Mr. Hutt over to Dr. Snoke. They strapped the fat man so tightly his rolls spilled over the straps. 

 

Mr. Ren stiffened beside her. His voice was tight as he said, "He doesn't have to know."

 

"Nonsense. He should know if someone else is being brought into the fold." He simpered as if sensing Mr. Ren's discomfort and reveled in it. 

 

Sweat gathered on Mr. Ren's brow, "I really don't think he should be-"

 

Dr. Snoke pounded the end of his cane on the ground silencing Mr. Ren. "I and Dr. Solo do the thinking! You are just the muscle, the enforcer." Dr. Snoke examined Rey with distaste. "Even with that you seem to be weak." 

 

Rey had the irrational instinct to snarl and attack Dr. Snoke for his words. The way he carried himself, the condescending tone, all made Rey hate him like she never despised anyone. 

 

"Now. I want Dr. Solo. Fetch him for me." Dr. Snoke's eyes turned manic. 

 

Mr. Ren nodded stiffly. He stepped forward and stopped. Rey frowned, confused as to why he wasn't leaving the room to get Dr. Solo.

 

Mr. Ren held his stomach as he let go a stifled scream. He falls to his knees still clutching is mid section. And Rey rushes forward to help him, but on orderly restrains her. She sees that it's D.J. and she wants to spit in his face. Rey struggles against his grip like a hellcat, but freezes at what she sees. 

 

Mr. Ren breaks out into sweats and he writhes on the dirty stone floor. Rey's eyes widen as Mr. Ren changes before her. His body thins. His hair becomes dull with flecks of gray. The scar on his face disappears. His jaw tilts off center. Tremors wrack his body before he stills. The clothes are now much too large. 

 

He struggles to get up, pushing his body to move. His legs wobble. And Rey audibly gasps, her eyes stinging.

 

Ben Solo stands where Kylo Ren fell.


	16. Split in Two

Rey couldn't believe what she was seeing. This wasn't possible. She had to be in a dream. No. This wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare. A lightheaded haze made her feel sick. Dr. Solo was somehow also Mr. Ren. 

 

His dark brown eyes turned to Rey. His face fell, terrified. "Miss. Jackson? What on Earth are you doing here? How did you get here?"

 

"Welcome back, Dr. Solo," Dr. Snoke's voice echoed over to him. 

 

Dr. Solo whipped around to face his mentor. "She shouldn't be here. Why is she here?" 

 

Dr. Snoke looked delighted. "Why of course Mr. Ren brought her here. He thought she would be the perfect first female subject for the test of the new formula."

 

"He is lying," Rey shouts. 

 

"No!" His voice boomed against all the stone and tile. "Mr. Ren would never bring her here as a test subject."

 

"Oh really? Is there something special about this skinny little mongrel?" 

 

"Fuck you!" Rey yelled before spitting on the ground. She may not be able to attack him but she could say her piece. 

 

Snoke's face looked like he had swallowed a lemon whole. "A mongrel with a dirty mouth no less."

 

"Mr. Ren would not have picked her because she is pure. And she has no illnesses." Dr. Solo supplied. His hands were shaking, fists at his side. 

 

Snoke watched Rey like a scheming wolf. "Perhaps she has no physical malady but she seems positively feral. She is obviously mad. She belongs here."

 

Rey fought against D.J. harder as nausea crashed into her. She stamped down hard on his foot, causing him to yip in pain. He let go and she ran for the door but there were orderlies already there blocking her way out. 

 

"Leave her in my care," Dr. Solo scrambled. He looked panicked.

 

Snoke laughed. "She can't stay in your care, Dr. Solo and you know why. Mr. Ren is gaining more control and she needs a trained physician. Mr. Ren knows nothing of our work." 

 

"Ben," Rey asked wild with desperation. "What is happening. How are you Mr. Ren but also yourself? What does he mean he is taking control? Are you dying? I don't understand!"

 

Snoke laughed even more. "Ben, Is it?" He rubbed his hands together. "Please my lady," he said the last word sarcastically. "Let me explain." Dr. Snoke slithered his way over to Dr. Solo and put a hand on his shoulder. "Dr. Solo had been very sick his whole life. Together we were finding a cure. Not only for physical illness but the most serious ailment of all, sickness of the mind. You see not only was dear Dr. Solo physically unwell but there was something dark that lurked deep inside his head. Rage and sadness followed him like a dark cloud. We thought we had created a serum that could fix both problems.

 

"Unfortunately it did not work as intended. Dr. Solo's health had not improved but his mind had. It wasn't until a few days later when he got particularly angry about something that Mr. Ren appeared. You see, Mr. Ren was the opposite of Dr. Solo. His body was physically fit but his mind was twisted with anger and misery."

 

Rey watched as Dr. Solo slumped under Dr. Snoke's touch. 

 

He continued to speak, "It happened for the first time here in this very lab. Mr. Ren had no past, no home, no memories, money or clothes. I told him who he really was, just a by product of an experiment gone wrong, a monster. He was a waste, but I would give him work, money a purpose if he did as I said. So long as Mr. Ren was angry, and wanting he stayed. But Dr. Solo would somehow fight his way back to the surface. Mr. Ren was always struggling for control in him.

 

"They shared no memories but they would get little bits of emotions from one another. And I surely thought Mr. Ren would stay forever with the pit of hardships inflicted upon him, but Dr. Solo always returned. I found it surprising and didn't know what the cause of his returns were. I am starting to believe that you had something to do with that."

 

Rey reduced her eyes to slits as Dr. Snoke grimaced. Dr. Solo still stood weak, and empty eyed. 

 

"Dr. Solo and I have been tirelessly trying to find a cure that will not split a person in two when taking the medicine. So we needed test subjects. Dr. Solo can't take another serum again until we know it's error proof. Who knows what it will do to him. We must work fast however, Kylo Ren grows stronger each day. Lately Dr. Solo only comes forth when Mr. Ren allows it. I fear Dr. Solo will disappear all together and I will lose such a brilliant mind."

 

"No!" Rey shouted.

 

Ben peered up at Rey and she froze. His expression turned tragic and broken. There was remorse in his swimming, chocolate eyes. 

 

"We have to keep testing different subjects because they all end up the same. Dead. We don't know why the serum worked on Dr. Solo as it did.  This new improved formula should do it. Yes, Dr. Solo?"

 

"There are only a few more possible formulas left Dr. Snoke. One of these must work." 

 

Dr. Snoke goes back to the table he was standing at before, and Dr. Solo dragged his feet behind him, his nose was turning red. He looked like a beaten down little boy. 

 

Dr. Snoke and Ben walked over to Mr. Hutt. She watched closely as he took a large syringe filled with a green liquid that seemed to glow in the limited lighting. Dr. Solo wrote something down in a large notebook. He had to be documenting the reactions. 

 

The pointed tip of the needle pierced Mr. Hutt's fat arm. The liquid pushed into his rotund bicep. It only took a minute before his whole body jolted violently. Mr. Hutt's eyes popped wide open, a blood curdling scream released from his slimy mouth beginning to foam. 

 

Rey was horrified by the sight, but in a twisted way, could not look away. She thought she would expel the contents of her stomach, witnessing black veins spreading under his greasy skin. 

 

The gurney he was strapped to rattled with his thrashing. It squeaked under his girth. This went on for a few minutes before he went still. He was still breathing, because Rey could see his chest rise and fall with ragged breaths. Then he let go of a small whimper, ceasing to move. 

 

Dr. Snoke frowned bitterly. He placed his head on the man's chest, listening for a heart beat or for Mr. Hutt's breathing. Dr. Snoke pulled away, snarling.

 

He pointed to some men dressed in white. "Take this one away! Clean him up and dump his body in an ally, like the others." Snoke grumbled crossing his arms. 

 

Ben's quill trembled as he scratched away in the large notebook. 

 

"I thought for sure it would have worked this time!" Snoke swept over to a black chalkboard and wiped it clean with more force than necessary. 

 

He spun around quickly. He gave Rey a sickening genuine smile that had her wanting to claw her way out of the room. 

 

"The girl! Let's test my next formula on the girl. I don't want to wait for another new subject. I am so close to perfecting it."

 

"No!" Ben and Rey scream at the same time. 

 

They wheeled Mr. Hutt out of the room as D.J. and another orderly holding Rey, pushed her forward. Rey dug her heels to stop them from moving her, but it didn't work. She screamed so her voice was raw. 

 

"Dr. Snoke. I already explained, she has no illnesses to cure," Ben begged. Rey could hear his frantic tone as they strapped her to the gurney. 

 

"If this works, she will never contract anything either," Dr. Snoke snickered. "I am sure this is right, absolutely positive. You have no need to worry this will not work. I am giving this guttersnipe something amazing."

 

Rey steuggles against her restraints to no avail. Ben grit his teeth as tremors made his whole body rock. Rey watched in stunned silence as Dr. Solo's hair became thick and lush and his shoulders filled his once baggy dress coat. He breathened heavy through tightly clenched teeth. 

 

Dr. Snoke held the injection up in his right hand, ready to give her the shot the moment she was still. 

 

"You let her go!" Roared Mr. Ren. His pitch black eyes burned with rage. He once again bore a scar running down his face. He snatched Dr. Snoke's wrist and the man's knees buckled as he hissed like a snake. 

 

"I own you Mr. Ren. Don't forget that! You would have nothing without me and Dr. Solo!!" Snoke spat, struggling. 

 

The workers still trying to strap Rey's legs down, were now jumping to Dr. Snoke's aid. Rey was able to slip one thin wrist free of the leather straps. She had reached out to grab something. She found a scalpel and brandished it wildly at anyone who got near her, but they were too busy running to Mr. Ren and Dr. Snoke. 

 

Mr. Ren was throwing punches and kicks while not letting go of the frail old man. 

 

Rey looked down to unstrap herself, Mr. Ren was now keeping everyone busy. Rey heard glass break, just in time to see Mr. Ren take a long shard of an oversized test tube and pull the jagged edge across Dr. Snoke's throat. 

 

Crimson spilled forth. 

 

An evil satisfaction in seeing the man's eyes roll back, settled in Rey's mind. His body flopped to the floor as the orderlies tried to apprehend Mr. Ren. He roared. Rey untangled herself and ran to help him. 

 

The scuffle was too disorganized, too chaotic. She waved around the medical instrument in her hand using it as much as possible. She wounded one. Mr. Ren knocked another out cold. 

 

D.J. appeared before her in the frey. 

 

"Y-y-y-you are never leaving here!" He lunged at her and clamped his meaty hands around her neck. Rey felt her windpipe being crushed. Tears welled in her eyes. Moving purely on instinct, she swung the scalpel, piercing the soft flesh of the side of his throat. 

 

D.J. coughed, shocked that she was holding the scalpel. He made a gurgling sound before releasing his grip. He held his own injury, but eventually passed out, his vision glazing. 

 

Rey was fairly certain she killed him and right then, she could not find the compassion to care. She stood panting with her heart pounding into the back of her mouth. Everything had come to an end in a matter of minutes. 

 

Mr. Ren stood a few meters away from herself, winded, splashed in red. Rey felt her nose run. The blood soaked floor and stress of almost being poisoned, buzzed like angry bees inside her. She had no idea what to do with all of her swarming emotions. So she lashed out. 

 

"You both lied to me the whole time?" Rey accused Mr. Ren. "Dr. Solo knew - . And you - . You made me look like a fool. I went to Poe thinking Dr. Solo was in danger but really he was in on this." She swept her arms around the now disheveled room. It was covered in blood and corpses. 

 

"Rey," Mr. Ren sighed, his bottom lip trembling. "Please." 

 

"No. Don't you dare try to defend yourselves!" Rey spat. She began to pace as her head raced with thoughts and emotions too much for her to handle. She buried her face in her hands and screamed. Rey had to release this pressure building up inside her. 

 

"I wanted to tell you," Mr. Ren began thickly. "But I was completely dependent on Dr. Snoke and Dr. Solo."

 

"Really? Than what was Ben's excuse?!" Rey charged so quickly toward Mr. Ren he looked alarmed. She stopped herself. She had wanted to hit him. 

 

"You would have to ask him for his reasoning. We share the same body but our minds are separate." 

 

Rey began to cry, really cry, and pain ripped through her chest. After a moment Mr. Ren spoke.

 

"If it weren't for me than none of this would have happened. I know I am the one to blame," Mr. Ren admitted. 

 

Rey wanted to shriek and beat his chest with how much she despised Mr. Ren, but seeing his devastated state pulled at a deep part of her. His head hung low, his shoulders hunched in. He appeared so afraid, so alone. He never asked to exist. He was pulled into this by a madman and his tests, blackmailed to do evil things. She realized she didn't hate him, not as much as she should. 

 

"Can you let Ben back out for good?" Rey felt guilty asking. Surely Mr. Ren was a person too. Even if he were simply a by product of a failed experiment, how could she tell him to disappear forever so she could have Dr. Solo back? 

 

"It isn't that easy. He is fading, finding a cure was the only way to bring him back. If we find a cure and Dr. Solo returns," Mr. Ren paused, "then that means that I die." 

 

Rey felt like she was being dropped from a substantial height. Her stomach fluttered. Mr. Ren shouldn't exist, and he didn't belong in a body that wasn't his. But Rey still felt a deep sense of remorse. Mr. Ren may have not have been alive before. But he existed now. 

 

Mr. Ren sweeps away from her. He stands before another table. Placed in a tall holder are three test tubes. 

 

"One of these last three is the right formula," Mr. Ren explains. "Dr. Solo and Dr. Snoke did extensive tests and took detailed notes. They didn't know, but I read them all. I don't share Dr. Solo's thoughts or consciousness, but I seem to share his intellect and… sentiments." He gave Rey a weighted stare, as if trying to tell her something. "I didn't tell them my thoughts. But I really believe that this next one, out of all the last three, is the solution. I am willing to take it. I shouldn't be here anyway. Ben deserves his life back."

 

Mr. Ren's throat bobbed, taking hold of a tube.

 

Rey watched, petrified. His large thick fingers took the syringe, filling it to the top with the formula. He tapped the side of the glass, letting whatever bubbles that existed come to the surface. He squeezed the end, so that a small amount spurt out. 

 

This time around could either cure him or kill him. She would never see Dr. Solo or Mr. Ren ever again if they reacted badly. "Stop!" Rey found herself yell, as she stretched out a hand toward him. 

 

What she was about to do was madness, this whole situation was surreal. Rey ran to him and seized the needle. Snatching it from his hand, she slammed it back down on the table with a thud. 

 

Rey's heart hammered against her ribs as she cupped Mr. Ren's face in her hands. She pulled him toward her, her mouth crashing into his. He was shocked, unresponsive at first, but it didn't take long before he was wrapping her in his arms, devouring her. 

 

His hands roamed, groped, and she let him, her body catching fire. Pawing at her breasts, pinching her nipples through her dress, she keened. He put distance between them for a moment. Rey noticed that they were both covered in red, the stains on their clothes only spreading with their movements against one another. 

 

Mr. Ren hoisted Rey up on the lab table so she sat on the edge. She hiked up her skirt as he settled between her knees, then pulled off his overcoat. She felt the heavy, heated length of him press against her core deliciously, sending shockwaves of unbridled ecstacy through her body. She licked into his open mouth. The sounds Mr. Ren made deep in his chest were dark, deep and animalistic. She didn't feel human herself, rutting up against him. Freeing one of her hands that clawed at Mr. Ren's torso, she placed a hand between them to rid herself of her knickers, her need for him was so great. 

 

Mr. Ren slowed his movements as he felt her hand brush at the space between them. He must have realized what she was doing, because he replaced her hand with his own, and tore the fabric of her undergarment. Rey gasped with shocked excitement, hearing the high pitched rip. 

 

Her hands shook as she tried to open the top of his trousers. At this Mr. Ren stopped. He dropped his eyes to her small hands working the buttons. 

 

"No stop," Mr. Ren said as if his order pained him. 

 

Rey look up at him, confused and hurt. 

 

A thumb rubbed at her cheek adoringly. 

 

"I can't." Mr. Ren's voice cracked. 

 

Rey raised an eyebrow. "Your anatomy says otherwise." 

 

Mr. Ren looked like he was stuck between laughing and crying. "If I take this formula and I am gone for good, then I couldn't stand the thought of robbing something so precious from you, only to abandon you forever. I can't do that." 

 

Rey pouted. "Let us be clear, Mr. Ren. I am not being robbed of anything. I am giving, willingly. And to the horror of my better judgement, enthusiastically, I might add." 

 

Mr. Ren's eyes shined with amusement, almost smiling. 

 

"Even so, I would much rather give something to you, than take," Mr. Ren replied. 

 

She saw him drop to his knees in front of her. Rey was confused as to what on Earth he was doing. 

 

"And what do you mean by- oh. Oh!" 

 

Even if Rey had been able to finish her question with any coherence, Mr. Ren would have not been unable to answer, as his mouth was preoccupied. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry my updates have been so slow! #adultstuff


	17. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I feel like I cheated you all from the long story that I had planned but this still culminated in the way that I had wanted. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for reading. I hope you all will read my novel "Evil for Evil" by J.B. Alijewicz. (On Amazon for presale.) I have been writing it since 2011. Copyrighted 2012, so it is in no way a fan fiction, though it is oddly similar, and in the enemies to lovers trope. It is fantasy and a revenge story. It is only in ebook format at the moment, until I get the paperback proofs all situated. And don't worry, I had two editors, so the blaring mistakes you see when I write these do not exist in the books. ;) 
> 
> I will edit this chapter as I notice any other mistakes I may have missed. 
> 
> I am still working on my other fanfic "for the first time seen" albeit slowly.

Rey wished she could hold the sun from rising. For the first time in her life she wanted to remain in the night, in the darkness and the quiet. With each minute that ticked by, her and Mr. Ren were closer to being discovered. 

 

"What happens if this works?" Rey asked as Mr. Ren held the tip of his needle inches away from his arm. 

 

She licked her lips. Mr. Ren looked glorious. His hair was a mess from her gripping it at the roots. His lips were even more swollen from prolonged use. She wanted to kiss him again, but knew she had to resist at some point, because Rey wouldn't be able to stop if she started up again. 

 

" _When_ this works." Mr. Ren swallowed, his sad eyes shining. "Dr. Solo will return and you contact the police immediately. You say that I killed everyone and that I ran. Tell them I was working for Dr. Snoke and he was paying me well to procure test subjects. He tried to cheat me and I turned on him. Say that we were blackmailing Dr. Solo too. They will look for me, but they will never find me."

 

Rey nods silently, looking down at the ground. She tries to be strong but finds her lip trembeling. 

 

Mr. Ren places his finger under her chin to lift her face up to him. 

 

"I love you," Mr. Ren says determined. 

 

Rey's breath catches and she feels dizzy. Her eyes go wide. 

 

"No one ever tells you that monsters can love, but they can. We can love just as strongly as we can hate. That's what makes us so dangerous. Goodbye, my sweet, Rey."

 

Without warning he jerked away only to jam the needle in his arm and inject the serum. Rey was too stunned to react. She just stood in horror, unable to move. A wave of dread fell cold on her shoulders. 

 

Mr. Ren staggered back, his body shaking violently. He gasped and choked, collapsing. He thudded to the ground, his body curled in on itself. Gasping and groaning, he twitched and jerked on the ground, grunting in pain. 

 

Rey wrapped her arms around herself as she watched him transform again. His frame slimmed, and his hair grayed. The scar across his face dissolved so there was only smooth skin. Rey watched his jaw shift unevenly. The transition back was not as volitile as the previous ones. His movements stopped, and Dr. Solo lay on the ground, his eyes shut and his body unresponsive. 

 

Taking three steps forward, Rey felt the room's temperature drop as she feared that he was dead. He wasn't moving. Kneeling in front of Dr. Solo she turned his body so he were on his back. There was nothing, no movement at all. She shook his arm but he was unresponsive. 

 

"Dr. Solo," Rey begged. "Please, Ben." His eyes didn't flutter, his body was unresponsive. "No." Rey gasped as he wasn't even breathing. This was it then. Both of them were gone. Her eyes stung as she bit her bottom lip. She flung herself over his body and wept, clutching his shirt. If she had known it would have ended like this and she would lose both of them, she would have never let Mr. Ren take the formula. This was her fault. Mr. Ren had only taken it to give her Dr. Solo back. Her heart felt like it was going to burst with pain. "I'm so sorry," Rey wailed into his arm. She would never love again. She would die, broken, alone and riddled with regret. 

 

Rey mourned the life she could have had with Ben and Mr. Ren. How would she go on without either one of them? Without the sound of their voice, the appraisal of their eyes, the touch of their hands or warmth of their body close to hers? 

 

She could not go back to his home. There would be too many memories. She would wake every morning forgetting he was gone until reality set in again. It would be like reliving his death everyday. Where would she go? She had no other home. Unless she could find employment in another home she would be back in the streets again, with only memories of happiness to keep her company. Finn, Rose and Paige would have to part ways. 

 

She sniffled remembering her desperation. Would she have to go back to Phasma and beg for work? Her stomach churned before she felt a twitch. Staggering back in shock she watched. His arm jumped and his chest rose and fell with his breathing. Gasping, she put a hand on her mouth.

 

She crawled toward him again and listened for his heart beat as Dr. Snoke had done with Mr. Hutt. It was weak, but it was there, steady. 

 

A thrill of hope lit her from the inside. Rey patted the side of his cheek trying to revive him. 

 

"Dr. Solo? Please wake up! Dr. Solo?" 

 

His eyes blinked, foggy and wandering. He mumbled something unintelligible. 

 

There was no helping her pounce, and her arms held out wide to hold on to him with all she was worth. 

 

"Ben! You are alive!"

 

He sat up looking shocked with her sudden affection. "Rey? Is- what's happening?" His expression was panicked at his surroundings.

 

Rey sat back but still held on to his shoulders as if inspecting him. "You are alive! Mr. Ren, took one of the last formulas and it worked." 

 

Ben looked down at his own hands and touched his face. "Mr. Ren, took the formula?" He held a hand to the side of his head. He tried to stand but instead stumbled. Rey steadied him. Ben saw the room around him. His mouth hung open as he discovered the orderlies on the ground and Dr. Snoke's cooling body. "Something is very wrong." 

 

"I know," Rey says. " I know everything, but it's over now, Ben."

 

He stopped and stared at Rey. He took a shaking breath. He must not be accustomed to her calling him by his first name so casually. 

 

"Mr. Ren said he would take the fall for everything. We can put this all behind us."

 

Rey cupped his face in her hands. 

 

"We?" Ben asked hopeful yet unsure. 

 

"Together," Rey answers. "If you would have me?" 

 

Rey almost lost him. She wouldn't not let him slip through her fingers again. He was hers. Forever. She dove into his dark brown irises holding him there. She would not take no for an answer.

 

He placed his long thin hand over her own and his confused and frightened expression changed to one of tenderness and resolve. "I will have you. Always. Without a single doubt, forever." 

 

He surged forward and kissed her. This was the first kiss she had with Dr. Solo. It was long, slow, deep and full of passion. It lit a fire in her just as strong as the ones she had with Mr. Ren. A single tear streaked down her face. 

 

It was a tear of joy and love, but also for Mr. Ren, one of loss and regret. 

  
  


*** 

 

Epilogue

 

6 months later

  
  


_ Kylo Ren Still At Large _

 

Read the headline in the paper. 

 

"Ben?" He heard Rey question. He turned his attention away from the newspaper to his beautiful, radiant wife. Her smile lit up the entire bedroom. Long chestnut hair tumbled down her delicate shoulders. She sat up in bed, nude, except for the bed sheet tucked under her armpits keeping it up. She placed a hand on her swollen abdomen. She was starting to show slightly. Rey looked like a goddess wrapped in the white linens. 

 

"Yes, wife?" He grinned. 

 

A lovely tinkling laughter fell from her lips. "Will you ever grow tired of calling me that?" 

 

"I suppose I will grow tired of it around the same time as when you tire of calling me, 'husband'." 

 

"Then never! You will never tire of calling me, 'wife'." She leaned over to her side and kissed him. "Are you reading the paper again? It's the same yesterday as it was today. Gloomy weather in London, no more mysterious murders. Kylo Ren still missing, possible sightings."

 

He chuckled, as Rey's fingers traced his face. She was getting used to the goatee he had decided he liked better than being clean shaven. 

 

Moving out to the country had been a good decision. The air was fresh, the sun shined brighter than in London. Bad memories were behind them and he and his wife had a beautiful life ahead of them. The country had done wonders for his health and body. Taking long strolls outdoors and helping with the chores around their small home with Rey, had given him a strong back, wider shoulders, and tanned skin. 

 

After the Snoke scandel broke, he sold his London home and quit his job. There was more than enough money from the sale of his old home and the massive sum Dr. Snoke had left in Ben's name should something happen to him, to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. They married in a quiet ceremony, with only a handful of people. 

 

He had given his servants the choice of coming with them to their new home in the country, or he would pay them a very generous severance. 

 

Finn had decided to propose to Rose and they were married. Finn, Rose and Paige each declined to continue their employment and put money in to buy their own cafe in London, which was booming. They were especially popular because some of the more nosey city dwellers wanted to ask questions about Mr. Ren, to the people who knew and worked for him first hand. 

 

Mitaka stayed as their coachman. The quiet, rural town helped calm his nervous disposition. Maz stayed on as their cook and loved the rolling hills and fresh air. 

 

Rey rolled out of bed and slung a robe around her. "I think I am going to take a nice warm bath." She walked toward the bathroom, but looked over her shoulder at him. "You are welcome to join me at any time." His little vixen gave him a beautific smile before heading down the hall. 

  
  


His heart sped up and his blood turned hot. Mr. Ren had no idea how he had ended up in Dr. Solo's body six months ago after injecting the formula, but in moments like these he was grateful he was here. 

 

When Rey had knelt before him, calling him "Ben" he had no idea what to make of it. He saw long thin hands instead of thick strong ones and tried to stand, but stumbled on unfamiliar legs. 

 

Rey was so happy, so hopeful, he couldn't tell her that Ben was already gone. There was no brining him back. Mr. Ren knew Rey loved Ben, and he couldn't crush her, he wouldn't. So he would be Ben, for her. He would be timid and quiet. He would answer when she called him "Ben". He would read poetry even if he found it rather boring. He would switch to hard boiled eggs instead of fried. 

 

It was worth it to see her smile, to see her stare at him adoringly. It was worth it, to make love to her every night and kiss her everyday. It was much much more than he deserved to be able to touch her skin, to call her his wife. Telling her the truth, knowing Ben was gone, would devestated her and he could never hurt her. He would be Ben Solo forever now. 

 

Rey popped her head back into the bedroom, seeing him still frozen on the bed. "In case I hadn't made myself perfectly clear," Rey smirked. She stood in the doorway and dropped her robe entirely, leaving her stark naked. She crooked her finger in a come hither motion. Mr. Ren shot up and scooped her in his arms, kissed her fiercely, and carried her down the hall to the bathroom as she simpered. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


THE END


End file.
